The happiest people prioritize having purpose over accumulating wealth.
A therapist who specializes in treating high-net-worth individuals, some of them billionaires, wrote a startling confession to The Guardian in 2021: many of his richest clients are also his unhappiest.
While these individuals don’t have to work and can literally purchase whatever they want, whenever they want it, a majority of them are suffering from high anxiety, substance misuse, trust issues, and poor relationships.
Why? Pursuing the accumulation of wealth for the goal of early retirement and a life of leisure can be a recipe for apathy and depression. Having a big bank balance can’t solve all of life’s problems—and may even create new ones.
Individuals looking for a better harbinger of happiness should focus instead on having purpose.
A sense of purpose is what gives life variety and meaning. Multiple studies published in the Journal of Positive Psychology and other scientific journals have found that striving for high, hard goals is positively related to well-being and life satisfaction.
Popular television series like HBO’s Succession and The White Lotus are full of examples of the toxicity that can come with affluent entitlement. Yet many viewers write these portraits off as fantasy to continue dreaming of what it would be like to have the windfalls of cash that come with winning the lottery or selling a business for eight figures.
There’s a human compulsion, reinforced by popular culture and social media, to pursue money and status for no other reason than some vague feeling that life will be better with more of it.
In truth, after a certain point, money has diminishing health returns. The real recipe for fulfillment involves making genuine connections with people and having a challenge to pursue—things that come from pursuing one’s purpose. While purpose can be found at work, it can also come from taking a course to learn a new skill or organizing events for a worthy cause.
Learning to leverage the transformative power that comes from pursuing purpose can be a healthy anti-aging activity as well. Having purpose motivates people to consistently learn new skills and adapt to new experiences. This activates a change known as neurogenesis, or the process of creating new neurons in the brain. Research suggests that adult neurogenesis plays a critical role in brain plasticity—the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections and modifying existing ones. Maintaining brain plasticity is important as people age and may also play a role in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Beyond the health benefits, having purpose just makes sense. Author Robert Byrne said it simply: “The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”
So, boldly move in the pursuit of a worthy purpose, and life will become truly rich.
Brendan Blowers is a writer and communications manager with a passion for inspiring people. His work has appeared in Forbes, Fast Company, and many other publications.
