From: unk...@googlegroups.com   
      
   Here's Why Materialistic People Are Less Happy and Less Satisfied   
      
      
   "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what   
   you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." ~ Epicurus   
      
   New research explores the fact that materialistic people are more likely to be   
   depressed and unsatisfied with life.   
      
   The study finds that a focus on what you want -- and therefore don't currently   
   have -- makes it more difficult to appreciate what you already have, according   
   to the Baylor University research.   
      
   The study, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences,   
   recruited 246 people at a private university (Tsang et al., 2014).   
      
   The researchers tested:   
      
   how materialist and needy they were,   
   how satisfied they were with life,   
   and their levels of gratitude.   
   They found that people who were more materialistic also felt less gratitude   
   which, in turn, was associated with lower levels of life satisfaction.   
      
   Psychologists have consistently shown how important gratitude is for both life   
   satisfaction and happiness.   
      
   The study's lead author, Jo-Ann Tsang, explains:   
      
   "Gratitude is a positive mood. It's about other people.   
      
   Previous research that we and others have done finds that people are motivated   
   to help people that help them -- and to help others as well.   
      
   We're social creatures, and so focusing on others in a positive way is good   
   for our health."   
      
   In contrast to the positive power of gratitude, materialism tends to make   
   people unhappy.   
      
   As one of the study's co-authors, James Roberts, explains:   
      
   "Our ability to adapt to new situations may help explain why 'more stuff'   
   doesn't make us any happier.   
      
   As we amass more and more possessions, we don't get any happier -- we simply   
   raise our reference point.   
      
   That new 2,500-square-foot house becomes the baseline for your desires for an   
   even bigger house.   
      
   It's called the Treadmill of Consumption.   
      
   We continue to purchase more and more stuff but we don't get any closer to   
   happiness, we simply speed up the treadmill."   
      
   The authors quote the words of Greek philosopher Epicurus, who said:   
      
   "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what   
   you now have was once among the things you only hoped for."   
      
   By law, all credit cards should have this quote across the front in   
   fluorescent pink.   
      
   Image credit: Drew Bandy   
      
      
      
      
      
      
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   How The Right Type of Materialism Can Make You Happy   
      
      
   http://www.spring.org.uk/2014/04/heres-why-materialistic-people-   
   re-less-happy-and-less-satisfied.php   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)