The Strongest Predictor of Happiness

If you just had more money, more time, more recognition, a better job, a nicer house, a chance to retire early, or a million and one other things, you'd be happy, right?

Doubtful.

You see real, long term happiness is not found in things, or even in achievements. Writing in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science, researchers Maya Tamir of Hebrew University, June Gruber of Yale, and Iris Mauss of the University of Denver state that the strongest predictor of happiness is not money or success but having "meaningful social relationships."

What makes a relationship "meaningful" is up to you to decide, but for most people it means that it transcends small talk, that is it is a relationship in which both people find acceptance, openness, shared interests, and more. But in fact, both the quantity and quality of these relationships matter. In other studies, on the whole, extroverts are found to be happier than introverts, in a large part because they have more friends.

So forget about winning the Nobel Prize in Commercial Real Estate. Don't worry so much which direction the friggin' stock market goes. Instead, make more friends. And deepen your relationships with the friends you have. People, not things, are what bring more happines into our lives. And people, thank God (and poor family planning), are everywhere!