Here’s a link to more pictures from my frolics abroad! I visited Lima, Urubamba (Sacred Valley) and Cusco from August 19-29th!
Here’s a link to more pictures from my frolics abroad! I visited Lima, Urubamba (Sacred Valley) and Cusco from August 19-29th!
Pictures from my recent escapades in Peru to come soon! 🙂
Experiences > material items
It turns out that it’s not whoever has the most stuff wins; it’s whomever has had the most experiences wins, and ends up being happier.
Say what? Aren’t we supposed to save all our money so we can keep up with having the newest of phones, TVs, and cars?
It turns out that while we used to think material things were the way to happiness, according to science, what will bring you the most lasting happiness are experiences — travel, outdoor activities, new skills, and visiting exhibitions.
We think because our brand new TV will last longer than a cruise to Bermuda, that the happiness we felt at purchasing the TV lasts longer, too. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.
“One of our enemies of happiness is adaption,” says Dr. Thomas Gilovich, a psychology professor at Cornell University who’s been researching the correlation between money and happiness for decades. “We buy things to make us happy, and we succeed, but only for a little while. New things are exciting to us at first, but then we adapt to them.”
Because our new TV is right there, it makes it easier for us to adapt to it. But slowly, it starts to fade into the background as an electronic wallflower of our lives. Trips we took, and experiences we’ve had, start to become part of our identities.
Think about it: Which had a greater impact on you — that video game you got as a kid, or thefamily vacation you took to Greece? You know, the trip with stories that can still make you and your siblings laugh when reminiscing.
“Our experiences are a bigger part of ourselves than our material goods,” said Gilovich in the study “A Wonderful Life: Experiential Consumption and the Pursuit of Happiness,” published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.
“You can really like your material stuff. You can even think that part of your identity is connected to those things, but nonetheless they remain separate from you. In contrast, your experiences really are a part of you. We’re the sum total of our experiences.”
Humans are highly social creatures, and meaningful social relationships contribute hugely in our happiness levels.
Gilovich continues, “One reason that experiential purchases tend to provide more enduring satisfaction is that they more readily, more broadly, and more deeply connect us to others.”
Our experiences make us who we are, connect us with other people, and bring us great amounts of happiness.
So, what’s stopping you? Take that money you’ve been putting towards a new couch and get on a flight for Thailand, sign up for a cooking class, or visit the next exhibition at a local museum. You’ll be much happier.
DECEMBER 11, 2014, 12:06PM
BY: MARIE TELLING
Merton Wilton / Flickr: 97238650@N08
Owen Lin / Flickr: owen-pics
Such as lokma – the divine Turkish donuts.
Clint Koehler / Flickr: amberandclint
Andreas Metz / Flickr: natarajam
This is the Basilica Cistern, built in the 6th century.
This is the Maiden’s Tower. It’s been located on the Bosphorus since 1110. According to the legend, a Byzantine emperor had the tower built for his daughter. An oracle had predicted her death on her 18th birthday and he thought that if she lived in the middle of the Bosphorus, she would escape this fate. Obviously, she did not, because as far as legends go, when an oracle predicts your death, you’re doomed.
Garrett Ziegler / Flickr: garrettziegler
Garrette Ziegler / Flickr: garrettziegler
The monument built in 537 used to be an Orthodox basilica until 1453, when it became a mosque. It was turned into a museum in 1935.
These fishermen are a usual sight on Galata Bridge.
Or Okey, another really popular game in Turkey.
Christian Bélanger / Flickr: krissserz
Stéphane Goldstein / Flickr: 33278177@N00
Eser Aygün / Flickr: eseraygun
Franzconde / Flickr: 79928508@N00
Nadia Blagorodnova / Flickr: nadiatwitch
Charles Roffey / Flickr: charlesfred
Joe Marx / Flickr: joe_marx
Sascha Kohlmann / Flickr: skohlmann
David White / Flickr: everpool
Robin Robokow / Flickr: robino
Mikko Lahti / Flickr: mmlahti
Here is a künefe, a cheese pastry soaked in syrup.
Here is a Turkish breakfast (the croissant isn’t the most typical, but whatever), with some Turkish tea.
You’ll just never be the same anymore.
Owen Lin / Flickr: owen-pics
Quinn Dombrowski / Flickr: quinnanya
Obviously.
Anna Kucherova / Flickr: annakucherova
Christian Senger / Flickr: 30928442@N08
Florian Lehmuth / Flickr: floffimedia
rejphotography / Flickr: 93503517@N00