Happiness Golden Rule: The Secret of Socrates

This post is part of a series of special articles about happiness, seeking what I call the happiness golden rules. These are the key guidelines, the conditions you need to satisfy in order to genuinely and instantly become a happier person.

This post’s happiness golden rule is based on a quote by Socrates, the famous Greek philosopher.

It’s amazing that almost 2500 years have passed since Socrates “revealed” his secret for happiness but we still don’t seem to get it. And the majority of us simply don’t follow it.

I genuinely believe Socrates is right. Let me explain why.

The Myth about Money

It’s a fact that today everything is about money. The more the better, they say. Undoubtedly we need money to buy food, water and shelter, the most notorious basic needs stated in the Maslow Needs Pyramid, for ourselves and for our families. Expectations are that with those needs fulfilled we have solid ground upon we can then think about raising a family, on gaining the respect of others, on gaining self-esteem and so on, climbing the steps of Maslow’s Needs Pyramid to happiness, joy and fulfillment.

But Socrates is not contesting that. We do in fact need basic resources in order to be happy, since those resources are the fundamental requirements for our very survival in the first place. What he advocates is that we shall not need to have much to be able to enjoy life to the fullest. So, the myth that money is everything and that we need more and more of it is not true, as we shall see.

Does Money Buys Happiness Afterall?

You certainly know many people who are, or at least seem, truly happy with what we consider to be very little to our standards. You probably also know people who are wealthier that you are and don’t seem to be happier than you, again by your standards. What this tells you, and this is something that is widely said and accepted as truth, is that money does not buy happiness or money is not everything. But at the same time you also hear people saying that money does buy happiness. So where do we stand?

In my opinion, and as paradoxical as this may sound, both sentences are correct. Although money can indeed “buy happiness” it does it only to a certain extent. Enough money will buy you one fundamental requirement for being happy: that is to have financial security.

Studies show that people are generally happier with increasing salaries, but only to a certain amount per year. After some point, having more money does not correlate with feeling happier. The threshold amount may vary from culture to culture but the key conclusion of the study is that there is such a magic amount, from which having more money does not translate into more happiness.

That number, that mark, is related to the financial security concept I was talking about just before. There are many levels of financial security, but the basic requirements  you need to satisfy is that you earn enough income to fulfill your basic needs (and I mean basic) while at the same time staying out of debt and keeping your balance positive after the expenses.

So when Socrates says “The Secret to happiness (… is) in developing the capacity to enjoy less”  he’s telling us that we must decrease the financial security threshold to as low as we possibly can. So we can earn just enough as to keep our basic needs satisfied. By doing that, you will gain financial freedom and release yourself from the chains of the need to have more and more. If you’re willing to accept that, of course.

“But I Want a Better Car …”

So you want to buy a “better” car, a “better” house or a “better” vacation for yourself and for your family. That seems the correct thing to do, to buy better things to enjoy life better right? I disagree. I believe that we were programmed to think like that, by the system we all live by, but that is not the truth.

Better and bigger toys are not the answer for happiness, or at least fulfilling and lasting happiness. The new toys and experiences may be great pleasure boosters to our lives but they are destined to not last for long. After some time (not so long you shall agree) the better car becomes “normal”, the better house becomes unnecessary and the extravagant vacation is a thing of the past.

And the biggest problem of having these hard expenses is that every time you have them you need to raise the bar, in order to take pleasure again. And so you keep repeating this cycle thinking this is the right thing to do, and each time you have these expenses you need bigger and better toys to obtain pleasure from.

So, but how can I start living a simpler and happier life with less stuff, you may ask?  Here follows my suggestions.

20 Suggestions to Enjoy More with Less

The idea is not to give you a “100 items list” or suggestions to save money but to present you a concise list of things for you to think and consider if you need them at all.

1. Do you need a big house? If you don’t own a house maybe you should not buy one that you cannot afford. Big is not always better. Give yourself and your family a suitable house to call home but anything above that is not required and shall be considered a waste of material.

2. Do you need an expensive car? The simple definition of a car is a vehicle that get’s you from A to B. I would add: safely. There are plenty of cheap and safe cars on the market. In fact, maybe you don’t need to buy a new car after all, maybe a used car is more than enough for your needs.

3. Do you need “status”? Many people buy certain items or goods with the hope that they will give them status or personal standing. They do indeed give you social status, the question is, do you need it? The most important people in your life are you, your family and your friends. Do they care about your status or personal standing? And if they do care, are they really your friends?

4. Do you need cable TV? If your favorite TV show only airs on cable maybe it’s important to keep it, but ask yourself: do I really need it? And this extends to general TV also. Would you be happier watching TV or doing something else? Think about it.

5. Do you need to go shopping? Many people spend their free time shopping. Most of the times we buy things we don’t need. We buy them to feel we can buy them and to fill a hole in our lives. In the process, a lot of money is spent. Instead of going shopping stay at home. But if you like to go out then go for a walk in the park for example, or plan a short trip.

6. Do you need to eat out? Eating out is generally less healthy and much more expensive than cooking at home. And is it really that more fun? Isn’t it more fun to invite friends over or to cook a family meal?

7. Do you need credit cards? Why are credit cards needed in the first place? To allow ourselves to get in debt. To buy things that we cannot afford in that moment in time. But why borrow with interest? Why not simply refuse to buy those things we cannot afford? And if you rely on your credit cards to live your life, to pay your basic expenses, than that’s a symptom that something is dead wrong with your personal finances, and I suggest you think that over.

8. Do you need coffee? Do you need the energy kick from coffee? “Yes!” You realize that that energy is borrowed? Later on you will feel more fatigued, more anxious and possibly you’ll have sleeping problems. In moderation, it’s probably ok to drink some coffee, but you should not need to drink coffee to be able to function in the first place. Plenty of people (me included) can function perfectly well without coffee. But if you do need coffee to function maybe it’s time to ask yourself what is not ok with your life.

9. Do you need to smoke? I know this is probably the hardest thing to let go due to its addictiveness. But you know innumerable stories about people who successfully stopped smoking, you can certainly be one of them. By quitting smoking you cut a huge expense, not to mention the health benefits. And if you’re thinking about starting smoking, then think again.

10. Do you need to remodel your house? Is it already time to change the sofas? (again) Need a bigger TV? Really? Need to buy new kitchen appliances? Need to buy new furniture? House remodeling is probably one of the things people spend more money at. Is all that really necessary?

11. Do you need a fixed phone? If you have a cell phone is it worth it keeping a fixed phone subscription?

12. Do you need a cell phone? Do you even need a cell phone to begin with? Chances are that you have a phone in your office or nearby. In the house maybe you have a fixed phone. You probably will need a phone of some sort but most probably you will not need a cell and a fixed phone together.

13. Do you need to go to the gym? Can’t you do the same exercises you need to do outdoors? It’s free and twice the fun! (except in extremely bad weather days of course)

14. Do you need more than 1 car or do you need a car at all? Do you need a car? Can’t you take public transportation? And if you need a car, do you really need another one? Cars are one of the most expensive assets you can have (if you can call them assets). They cost you insurance, maintenance, tolls, gas. Maybe you don’t need more than 1 car and possibly you don’t need a car at all.

15. Do you need to travel so much? Travelling experiences are excellent but do you need to take those very expensive vacations? Can’t you enjoy the same kind of experiences nearer? And why do you need to travel so often? Travels are huge expenses that certainly generate good memories but probably you don’t need them.

16. Do you need gizmos or gadgets? Do you need an MP3 Player, a Tablet PC, a 3G Cell Phone, the latest PC, a Notebook? Do these things add anything useful or meaningful to your life? Do you even use them often enough to justify their investment in the first place?

17. Do you need to buy new? This applies to houses, cars, books, clothes, video games and jewelry (do you need them?). Can’t you buy second-hand? There are plenty of more than fine used houses. There are more than enough fully functional used cars that will serve perfectly. You can buy almost 100% condition used books on amazon for example with cuts from 10 to 75% or even more.

18. Do you need so many clothes? Do you need to renew your wardrobe so often? Aren’t a few pairs of shoes, a certain amount of shirts, coats and underwear more than enough?

19. Do you need to buy so many groceries? Do you need to buy particular unhealthy foods like ice cream, chips, cookies or candy? If you stray in your shopping then make a list and stick to it. Buy store brands and buy value packs for things you buy more often.

20. Do you need to use so much electricity? The electricity consumption champions are air conditioners and heaters. If you happen to live in a moderate climate region, do you really need those?

So What Do We Gain From All This?

Money is important to give you financial security but it is not that important to make you a happier person in the long run. Socrates suggests that to be happier one needs to get used to enjoying life with fewer things, for as we saw in this article they are not that important in the end.

As a result of reducing your expenses dramatically you will need a lot less income to attain financial security, which will allow you to feel more secure and more in control of your life. Moreover, with fewer things, and the lesser need to acquire them, you become much less stressed and pressured to earn more money, to work more jobs, to climb in your career, to get promoted, to do all you can to keep your job. You spend much less time worrying about all that and you can spend more time enjoying the real things you like to do.

Remember that the things you like to do don’t need to be expensive. I suggest you follow the old Greek philosopher’s advice and start enjoying your life with less today!

Subscribe the RSS feed

Read related articles:

• The Maslow Hierarchy of Needs Theory and its relation to Pleasure, Happiness, Joy and Fullfillment
• 5 Rules to Help You Manage Your Money Savings
• Reduce Stress at Work and Life with Organization
• Happiness Golden Rule: Share the Joy of Helping Others
• A Definition of Happiness