How to buy happiness | Michael Norton

www.ted.com At TEDxCambridge, Michael Norton shares fascinating research on how money can, indeed buy happiness -- when you don't spend it on yourself. Listen for surprising data on the many ways pro-social spending can benefit you, your work, and (of course) other people.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at www.ted.com/translate
If you have questions or comments about this or other TED videos, please go to support.ted.com

[@jackdauphan2703]

this so true. I began giving to charity years ago & it led me to become involved with volunteer work for a local children's hospital that treated kids w/ cancer. 3 years later I was diagnosed w/ stage IV metastatic cancer & after treatment & surgery I was told I would not survive. b/c I had been involved w/ that charity I found it impossible to feel sorry for myself. Miraculously today I am cancer free & my docs believe my positive mindset was a big reason. happiness begins when selfishness ends

[@mariamarulina8937]

Thank you for sharing your story Jack, another testimony that can prove a doctor's diagnose wrong. Well done!

[@Paragonx135]

"Money can't buy happiness"? That is not said very well. But "Money is no guarantee of happiness" - much more precise.

[@navshri]

Beautiful. Thanks Michael. Appreciate your efforts and time o put together and share the wonderful wisdom.

[@natushkatzm]

"Pay it forward" came to mind as well as an extended version of this talk.

[@newcaselino2005]

powerful, straight to the point talk, GREAT!

[@cheyennes]

I feel like this is something that has been obvious to me since I was a child. When you give something to someone you remove focus from yourself and are "present" pun intended, and able to improve someone else's happiness. And I think regardless of whether it is your own or someone else's money as long as it is proportionate to your budget you'd still be happy giving it away. Most people can afford giving away a dollar or 50 cent equivalent in there own specific currency w/o major ramification

[@schalazeal07]

Thank you!! I'm cultivating positivity and peace in myself but I still haven't mastered being totally happy bec. I attribute it to external sources.. but this made me think and feel better...

[@djroozl]

this vid provided me insight. sometimes people have to experience it first for themselves especially by obtaining money through their own hard work. I can imagine why many countries on the map are not significantly green because people there are struggling financially to some extent. for the countries with population that are well off, they probably define giving as buying a good product from a company, which is also in a sense giving away money instead of stashing it away.

[@miofujita4468]

I feel happy when I buy any birthday presents for people who I loved. I would like to tell my students. Thank you for amazing videos.🥰

[@52000rightwing]

"The best money I ever spent was buying beer for my friends." -The poet

[@ahmed79656]

That got me a misty eye :)

[@kkthegreat88]

a very important aspect which we need to consider, when you spend money on others it makes you feel better BUT THOSE WERE NOT YOUR MONEY.

[@jiyounglee2571]

Michael talked about how to buy happiness. He showed us some experiments, which are very impressive. We don’t need to do amazing things with our money to make ourselves happy. We can do just small, trivial things. I need to think how to spend money on others rather than myself.

[@BigDaddy-hv4mv]

Thank you all for the positive comments

[@OvercomeLoneliness]

Amazing talk. This makes me feel good.

[@JaydedCammie]

It doesn't even matter if it's money. I'm a broke college student. I make a lot of the things I give away. It still makes me happy to see someone has enjoyed and used something I made for them.

[@Paul-A01]

Agreed, some of the experiments, such as the allegorical surveys were lacking in rigor, but the more controlled experiments where they instructed them on how to spend seem to imply the correlation.

[@ocloofk]

Great listening

[@obras_servicos1833]

Very very good! Loved this!

[@clintphilipespanol6924]

Act 20:35 "There is more happiness in giving than in receiving."

[@kimbapinda]

Love this!

[@rachel-wh9em]

Spending money for someone is really important. Buying gift for your friends, your parents and someone. As see long life we must be happy.😻 I was inspired this speech.!!

[@antonellamktg]

my favourite Ted Talk

[@bethtate5943]

So inspirational.

[@HannaP]

Very interesting application of what we have!

[@juanbarahona6234]

I need to say something for my English class, this video shows an experiment that tries to show that spending money on other people generates more happiness than spending it on itself, I agree because money is used as a means to socialize or help people, giving a personal satisfaction.

[@paolabrugal645]

Same

[@shadman1911]

I think that this has big implications in the dynamics of team work... we are hardwired to take pleasure out of our own altruistic behavior even if trivial like buying someone coffee, although counter intuitive in most situations it improves the group dynamics... evolution carved this in to our nature to make us work in more effective groups but it also gave us a big brain that prefers selfish choices in order to preserve our individuality... cool!

[@WorldLady]

A great example of service to self vs. service to others! Service to self is based in ego, fear & separation consciousness. This is NOT our true nature. Anything that takes us away from our true nature make us unhappy. Service to others is based in spirit, love & oneness/unity consciousness. This IS our true nature. Anything that brings us closer to our true nature makes us happy. As happy people living from our true essence we have a higher vibration which attracts high-vibrating things to us.

[@treygrove3911]

after watching this video I decided that I should try this and see how it feels for myself, so I went to a buddy's house today and ordered us pizza. when the delivery girl got there I gave her a $10 tip. the look on her face truly made me smile. Earlier tonight while i was a work a man came in and got a small coffee. It cost $1.47 the man gets in his wallet and pulls out a $5 and says put the rest of that in your pocket. I can honestly say this has been one of the best days of the past 3 months.

[@Thecriticguy16]

I'm typing up a thesis right now on this same topic, and, I've learned from all the people that I've interviewed (giving them the option of $10 million dollars) they really have no desire for anything that would cost more than $200,000. I related this same analogy to the Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech about how it can't. I beg to differ; it can, you just have to spend it right.

[@joeybwalsh]

I agree 100%. Spending your disposable income on charitable means rather than personal gratification does bring about more fulfillment. However, charity is only charity if it is voluntary.

[@DushevnaSepsa]

Nicely said.

[@yinyinxu9575]

Recently, I bought quilts for my parents and sister because it is really cold.That indeed make me feel happy.

[@SoBeFamous]

"Rwanda is amazingly green" Made me proud for some odd reason :D

[@IndependentThought]

I just did a review on my channel on his book "Happy Money" had the opportunity to talk to him and hes a really cool guy

[@ndndndnnduwjqams]

Wow you have no videos. Make it public

[@KeeganIdler]

"Are they positively correlated? i.e. does giving increase happiness?"... And not even a hint of a smile at what he just did there. I'm impressed.

[@ALiveNoteProduction2]

My literal first thought is making sure my family (including myself) are comfortable with their living status. Then donate and/or create a No Kill animal shelter. I'm pretty sure I would still be happy even though I spent some on myself.

[@woodfiend2525]

Exactly. The number of potential confounding effects is huge. It does not sound like they controlled for anything in the correctional studies in various countries. The causality could be reversed but there could also easily be other factors that both increased happiness and willingness to spend on others. Luckily they didn't present a correlation study alone, but actually did experiment with making people spend money in different ways.

[@barbsmith5355]

Great thoughts on prosperity, caring for our fellow man, and self happiness. Thank you.

[@MariePastoor]

Just great!

[@1lebero]

Nice video and very interesting thanks I liked it!!!!

[@andy4an]

i was skeptical until he told me about the dodge-ball experiment.

[@B_Lee_Eve]

so true

[@intelignamergedmediacompan8547]

Great insight into the value of Charitable Giving. Thanks TED for another great learning opportunity. Michael Norton nailed the power of being happy. #CastYourBread #ImaginIf DND

[@Sherrill0305]

This is an excellent talk. Wade Harman you may enjoy this if you haven't already seen it. :o)

[@manalto1343]

+Sherrill Anderson So, if you've already seen it you won't enjoy it?

[@MarcioVenturelli]

Very interesting ... in fact we all know that helping other people and thus bring more happiness for ourselves ...

[@krombopulos_michael]

I give money to charity sometimes but I never feel happy about it. I still do it out of a sense of obligation but it's like washing the dishes or eating healthily, something that's no fun to do but has to be done anyway.

[@Zeuts85]

I see your point. Though I think many people see the money as their own, thus somewhat validating the experiment. It certainly isn't perfect though. I wonder how else they might go about studying people's attitudes towards spending?

[@AndrewReeman_RemD]

I didn't find the results from this study too surprising ... but I can see interesting ground for further development. Such as noting the intentions of the people who give money and then their happiness. Do people who spend in a (selfish) socially strategic way end up being happier then those who do not spend it for a particular selfish reason? And the difference between giving to strangers and friends? However, I am always wary of the word happiness and how one can measure such a thing..

[@judetattum7393]

For me this is true, I feel much happier when I give money or stuff away especially to those who are less fortunate than I. If you have an open hand to give more will return to you, again true in my life.

[@QuaaludeCharlie]

It is better to Give , but for the right reasons

[@oceanmythjormundgandr3891]

I once spent the rest of my money to buy my mom a potted plant for her birthday. It made us both very happy... until mom realized that I went broke because of that and she would have to give me some money so that I could have lunch at school. But the happiness still lingered for about a week.

[@LycheeCoffee]

it also depends on personality. some ppl are just selfish& would be happier to spend it on themselves than others. others are more generous & find happiness in sharing with others. I thnk it also depends on WHO you're giving it to. The happiness level is probably greater if spend it on someone who really needs it or someone you really care for vs. someone/some cause you're less passionate about. Also, is the money spent directly or through a third party &how appreciative is the person receiving

[@TaloomHwang]

super~ agreed!

[@HeavyMetalMouse]

I would be interested to see what the happiness data is on the people who *received* the gifts as well. I know that my personal happiness improves when I receive a gift from someone, especially an unexpected one, though perhaps not as much as it would on buying a gift for another. Happiness isn't a zero-sum game, which can make for some interesting results when mutual happiness is considered in the trials.

[@arramzy18]

Absolutely correct. The thing to remember, is that this type of data has been replicated in a variety of settings with varying measures. Together, it seems to suggest with reasonable certainty that giving/donating is associated with a short elevation in mood at the very least. Long term is much harder to prove because of the endless confounders that arise in long periods. Nevertheless, it highlights a very interesting concept - 'altruism' makes us happier. But does altriusm really exist?

[@cheyennes]

Giving is receiving unless your ego is too overinflated, to realize it, it's a positive act whenever you forget about yourself you're so much happier. Many cultures, and religious doctrines have been aware of this for a long time. That doesn't mean they practice it though ha.

[@Lonelywillow]

To those people asking what would happen if you had to spend your own money on others: He did show the map of people who had donated money to charity lately and their general happiness and he asked people for the last time the'd spend money for others. In none of these examples did the researchers give them extra money.

[@amandawilliamson4468]

It's very inspirational. I should be happy.

[@lydiamoore8977]

I should try this too.

[@chubito33]

well to start off i've always said that money cant buy u happiness..only if u spend it wrong. honestly if i ever win the powerball i already know that im giving half or more to others, not charity cuz dont like the idea of not seeing where my money is going but i would give it to ppl on the streets, go some department store and pay off ppl's debt idk something along those lines, i'll do it not for the media attention but for the sheer fact that i am improving others lifes, even in a small way

[@DoRayMeFa]

I've always imagined it would make me happy to be John Beresford Tipton, who gave away a million dollars to someone at the beginning of each episode of "The Millionaire." This TEDtalk confirms my belief. All I have to do is somehow get that kind of money in the first place. P.S. That TV series was shown in the 1950s, when a million dollars was worth something!

[@ninjabob2456]

The pattern I see from this is that money spent just on Things seems to be wasted. On the other hand, spending money on someone else is a rewarding social Experience. I would have thought just distinguishing between Things and Experiences would hold the answer. It's doing cool stuff rather than having cool stuff that makes me happy.

[@pastachaos]

5:34 THE CAKE IS A LIE. I'm sorry.

[@dandasheh1]

oh No. why did you tell me 😢😢😢 that ruined my life :p

[@Spacecoke]

money only buys the greedy happyness, to everyone else, knowing you made someone happy or even save their life, is more satisfying than knowing you only helped yourself.

[@Peterapika]

interesting. thanks for sharing. :)

[@mba2ceo]

I am more than willing to allow others to make them happy.

[@kaisergrendel]

Touche!

[@vonGleichenT]

I would have to agree on that. "Irresponsible" is the key word.

[@kentrel2]

I will write it on the back of a receipt of all the things I'll be buying with your happiness.

[@KathrynCCA]

Hey TED, at 0:23 you misspelled Massachusetts in the lower third. MIght want to fix that.

[@realbluemeanie]

Amen. Shame that the premise needs to be skewed like it has been here.

[@Toastmaster_5000]

@peluffodaniele True but keep in mind is experiment applies to people who have the money to spend to begin with. If you're in poverty, sure you'd like to buy things for friends and family but if you can't even afford to keep up your own personal lifestyle then you won't be happy losing money you need, especially if nobody gives you anything in return.

[@brod2man]

reading the comments there are a lot of people questioning this experiment's results. To test it, try one of the following; go out and buy someone a gift they would appreciate, donate to a cause or simply compliment someone genuinely/do a deed for someone. All are forms of compassion. Guarantee you will feel good about yourself and about the person you helped.

[@Jake940T]

I thought about that, and it would make sense if considering only one person. However, because there is a constant stream of people dying, charities would be receiving more money while the general public loses the same amount. You can think of it in terms of momentum as well: at first charities would lose money, but after a few decades there would be a significant increase in donations that would quickly overcome the amount lost during the first years.

[@TheBagleboy]

I think that if it was your own personal money, then the act of giving it away is more rewarding. I would like to note though that giving money away to someone you can physically see is much more rewarding then just giving it to someone without seeing them (personal experience)

[@dvdragon]

Cool why to look at it. Perceptive.

[@roymaitland]

Always do.

[@MINE27ify]

Best money I spend is helping people

[@yrral01]

this idea was part of the musical Avenue Q the money song

[@BedroomBugs]

this is nice.

[@happywelldriller]

Spending time on some one seems more universally rewarding than spending money. Perhaps we have internalized the sentiment “time is money” much to the detriment our personal and societal well being!

[@YourITouchNewz]

Helping others helps yourself..

[@TheVoidReturnsNil]

Reddit has plenty of charity opportunities where people will show you the real, tangible results of them receiving your gifts. :) It's a great feeling. Reddit's "Random Acts of Christmas" is a good one for this season!

[@michal90ns]

It's not really about spending money, it's about contributing to society :)

[@burgerking0007]

i believe jelleestone said it best "money can't buy me happiness, but I'm happy when I can buy what I want, anytime that I want"

[@rayo1231]

It is better to give than to receive.

[@nobledb1023]

Giving is better than receiving

[@johnclayton8082]

I like this video.

[@toypy]

This was interesting!:)

[@howdyrogit]

I find this to be true; if you spend your money on something you know will have good results, in return you will be happy. For instance the charity donorschoose, you know what the outcome of your purchase will be to the students. That is how money can buy happiness.

[@obras_servicos1833]

O que ele defende em sua apresentação no TED é que o dinheiro só não nos traz felicidade quando somos egoístas em relação a ele. Norton sugere que se gastássemos mais dinheiro em benefício de outras pessoas ou doássemos mais, nossa felicidade seria maximizada. Para comprovar sua teoria, o pesquisador fez um experimento interessante com dois grupos de estudantes universitários. Ao primeiro, deu entre 5 e 15 dólares para que cada aluno gastasse consigo mesmo. Ao segundo, entregou a mesma quantia e pediu-lhes que gastassem o valor comprando produtos e serviços para outras pessoas. O resultado mostrou que não importa a quantidade de dinheiro que você gaste: esses gastos farão você mais feliz se beneficiarem outras pessoas. Isso explica por que boa parte das pessoas que ganha na loteria tem uma vida infeliz, diz Norton. “O dinheiro nos traz péssimas amizades e também nos deixa egoístas. Por isso, pessoas que têm o costume de doar são mais felizes”.

[@vanillabean7832]

Obras_servicos Obg pelo sumário! 👌🏻

[@cheyennes]

In fact I think if this was given out of pocket people would've even been more pleased with the results. When you give away things that are dear it's even more pleasing because you prove to yourself that physical objects do not control your state of happiness. You take it back for yourself when, in other-words when you give away the money it loses some of that selfish grip it has on you.

[@nilkapatricio6012]

That is trued

[@ashliebelle]

Money is one of the things that's talked about most in the Bible because it's such a basic human desire to quantify the things around us. Money is a measure for success, and a measure for happiness, and what you do with money is such a huge indicator of where your heart is. Selfless with money leads to spiritual happiness, no matter what you believe.

[@rsgirl10]

They do. 3 ways money buys happiness that I'm aware of: 1) To meet to standard cost of living/essentials. This doesn't by happiness per se - it enables it by decreasing stress. 2) By spending it on experiences. 3) By giving it away. The best way to do this is by giving smaller amounts out more often. However, it's hard to say which is most important - would you still be happy about giving away $500 if you can't pay rent? This video seems to suggest that, but I'm a bit skeptical.

[@xandermcn]

like the song from dirty rotten scoundrels: i just want someone to love me, for my money! it works on so many levels.

[@oicub2]

Some of the most happy , considerate , honest & fun people to be around have a profound financial disadvantage . & some of the meanest , unhappy , dishonest & inconsiderate people to be around are at a financial advantage .. WEiRD how that works ..

[@chillbabe104]

i'm not trying to be a smartass or anything but maybe u should try to give the money in person. i did that and the appreciation they showed made me happy.

[@dbsk06]

7 minutes into this and i was thinking yeah whatever what's new we've heard a lot about how philanthropy makes the giver happy blah blah blah until towards the end of the video, i realize my framework for viewing helping others is the problem. maybe this presentation isn't entirely original but it makes me wonder how my life would change if i saw "giving" differently and incorporate it into my daily life.

[@misieaz]

How can i add subtitles to the video?i would like to send it to a friend but he does not have a clue of english

[@HarisSanthipurathYoosafali]

cool

[@miyamotoclan5054]

Giving money away to random people for which you couldn't care less about doesn't make you happier. However, giving money or resources to those whom you value and cherish can bring joy into one's life.

[@Mercyless4good]

+Miyamoto Clan money is lowest thing to give.

[@vanillabean7832]

I care about random people... Do you care about me?

[@vanillabean7832]

My point is simple... You shouldn’t not care about someone just because you don’t know someone. And it’s up to ourselves to realize that if we did get to know that person, chances are that we would care about them (like we should)!