Would winning the lottery make you happier? - Raj Raghunathan

Imagine winning a multi-million dollar lottery tomorrow. If you’re like many of us, you’d be ecstatic, unable to believe your good luck. But would that joy still be there a few years later? Raj Raghunathan describes a phenomenon called hedonic adaptation, which may shed light on the answer.

Lesson by Raj Raghunathan, animation by Allen Laseter.

[Stvz]

Having money doesn't automatically bring you happiness, but struggling with little money automatically makes life harder and thus makes unhappiness easier to fall prey to.

[thormaster]

I won 170 000€ in lottery and only told my mom. I put 120 000 in savings. With 50k left I spent something on myself (shoes, paid off the rest my car loan, trips to Paris and Istanbul), and offered a loan to my friends that were struggling to find money to build their house. And I spend more money for presents for my close ones. Couple of people noticed pricey gifts, but I got away with telling them I got a raise at my job.Unless they are reading this! :) It makes me happy seeing them happy.

[imAwareOfYourAddress]

They said money can't buy happiness, but it can buy a penguin

Have you ever seen a sad person with a penguin?

[aMulliganStew]

"If wealth be a curse, may God smite me with it." -- Tevye, Fiddler on the Roof.

[JC-zwbw]

I rather be sad with millions in the bank then sad and still have to worry about paying rent.

[Matthew_Murray]

I personally find the generational difference when it comes to "What would you do if you won the lottery?" fascinating. It use to be "I would buy a yacht, or a fleet of foreign cars." Now it's "I would pay off my student loans, or medical bills"

[NDX]

It exponentially improves your standard of living. You wouldn't have to worry about money anymore, which is more than enough for me.

[vinnatak]

How accurate can these studies be, though? I read about another study that said people often lie about being happy because it is shameful to say you are not.

[drink]

Can't think of anything that would make me happier than being out of debt.

[YulanCardoso]

I believe the biggest correlation between money and happiness is having time to do stuff that actually make you happy. Less work means more travel, quality time with your family, hobbies and lack of "bad" responsability, which can certainly make your life better.

[KeithTreason]

What would I do with it? Pay off my student loans.

[FlaviusBelisarius-ckuv]

Sure, winning the lottery may not make me happy forever, but I'd rather cry in a Lamborghini than on a bicycle.

[arafwho]

Did u ever see anyone sad in a lamborghini?

[randomalpaca]

3:11 I was expecting a skill share ad here

[MrTHEPROUD]

Okay this may be true, but with this logic nothing would ever give longlasting happiness since we would adjust to that default state.

[callmemudplease]

winning the lottery would give me financial stability for the rest of my life. never having to worry about a roof or food again would help me sleep better at night. it's proven that a lack of sleep makes your brain produce a chemical to keep you awake and a common side effect is irritability. so, yes, winning the lottery is guaranteed to make me happier.

[sergecharlebois]

This was actually really insightful! I personally think the most important factor in all of this is how stable a person is in their life when winning the lottery happens. I could win tons of money tomorrow and I already know that I'm going to have to be careful with how I spend it, I'm going to have to expect unwanted requests for money from others, and that I should definitely do what I can to make sure the important people in my life remain that way despite my newfound riches. Whenever lottery winners lose it all quickly or act foolish or mean, it's clearly because they were not ready for this money. Life is about equilibrium, in health, in love, in friendships, in family, in careers and in finances.

[seljak]

giving it to others will maybe make you happy for a short time, but after that short time you realise what you could have done with that money

[awsmjoey]

The key to happiness is to continue growing and have an everchanging life. If you want to talk in terms of money I am positive that somebody who inhereted a billion dollar wealth which be far less happier than somebody who worked their entire life, kept growing, and made their way to a half billion dollar wealth. Having challenges and overcoming them is what truly makes us happy (at least in my case and most of the people who I know).

[cristianfuller]

If I win a lottery I would first pay of my parents debt and that is surely going to make them and me infinitely happy