Retail therapy is known as a means of shopping which instantly makes one feel happy. Once you have enough money to splurge on yourself something, you decide to to go shopping. Material wealth indeed brings one happiness but this joy and cheerfulness is only short lived. But why is that, you may ask? You might be thinking about a new watch, shoes or bag you want to buy, but as soon as you acquire it and use it for a few days, the pleasure and enjoyment of having it starts to fade away.
Once you use your new dress, shoes or bag, you start getting used to the product and thus your level of satisfaction associated with the item starts to decrease which in turn makes you want to go out and buy something new. This vicious cycle repeats itself over and over again from time to time.
This kind of addiction is unhealthy and the problem stems directly from us trying to buy happiness. Unfortunately, happiness is not something which can be bought. As a human, you can live with all the luxuries in the world and still be unhappy. Money does not buy happiness, it only helps to relieve stress and makes life simpler.
Interestingly, while the happiness derived from a purchase depletes over time, the same amount of happiness or even more can be obtained from travelling which does not deplete over time. This is because we can retain the beautiful memories we have made on our travels.
New purchases only make us happy for a short period of time, it does not maintain happiness for longer periods.
While on the other hand, travelling incorporates experiences of different cultures, foods, exotic locations, languages which is far greater than owning material possessions. Travel experiences are enriching and give us a lot to learn while purchasing goods does not expand our view on life. The memories we make on our travels are most cherished and loved by us and definitely make us happier when we think about them.
Being disconnected from our usual surroundings ends the monotony of our day to day routine even if it is for a short while but the happiness obtained is for a lifetime.
Experiences like these connect us to individuals which material possessions for sure can not. This is because whilst travelling, we spend more time with our friends and family which brings us closer to them. Book a baking class, do an extreme sport or learn new skills with your loved ones while on this new experience.
Hard earned money spent on travel will not only bring happiness but long term satisfaction to you as well.
