Find a sense of purpose and you ’re more likely to get rich

By Christian Jarrett As the dawn breaks on a new year, now might be a good time to think about what you want to get out of life over the longer-term. We already know from past research that having a greater “sense of purpose” is good for us psychologically: it’s linked with experiencing more positive emotions and generally feeling better about life. Now a study in the Journal of Research in Personality suggests there are material benefits too. Researchers followed the same sample of people over a period of about nine years, and they found that during that time, those individuals who reported a greater sense of purpose at the study start had accumulated greater wealth.  What does it mean to have a sense of purpose? Patrick Hill and his colleagues measured it by asking 7108 US residents to rate their agreement with three statements: “Some people wander aimlessly through life, but I am not one of them”; “I live life one day at a time and don’t really think about the future”; and “I sometimes feel as if I’ve done all there is to do in life.” Participants were considered to have more sense of purpose if they agreed strongly with the first statement while disagreeing strongly with the last two. The participants also completed a basic personality questionnaire, rated their life-satisfaction, and then answered questions about their income and accumulated wealth. At the study start, participants with more sense of p...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Money Personality Source Type: blogs