Does Happiness Bring Wealth?

Does money bring happiness or does happiness bring money?  A study out of Warwick University seems to suggest happier people tend to have a higher income.

The study found that people with a sunnier disposition were more likely to get a degree, get hired, and get promoted.  This may be because optimistic and positive people are nicer to be around, making them more likely to be hired and promoted than their pessimistic peers.  People with better moods are also more likely to make better decisions and be up to a challenge.  If happy people are less prone to anxiety and depression, they are less likely to go absent and miss out on things.  And because happy people tend to have better relationships, they have greater access to social support.

So work on being a happier person; it may be a good investment.

See Adrian Furnham, Happiness Brings Wealth, Psychology Today, Feb. 26, 2014.