By Raj Mistry
Happiness: Finding True Joy in a Material World
Who doesn’t want to be happy?
Happiness is something we all desire, yet many of us struggle to truly find it. The problem isn’t that happiness is out of reach — the problem is that we are often chasing it in the wrong places.
We believe happiness will come once we earn more, buy better things, upgrade our lifestyle, or reach a certain status. And yet, even after achieving those things, the feeling doesn’t last. So the question becomes: are we really working toward happiness, or are we chasing something that only looks like happiness from the outside?
Let’s break it down.
Happiness and Materialism
In today’s world, happiness is heavily tied to material possessions. People spend their hard-earned money on expensive clothes, branded shoes, the latest phones, or luxury cars — often believing these things will finally make them happy.
But ask yourself honestly: how long does that happiness last?
A few minutes.
Maybe a day.
Sometimes not even that.
Buying things isn’t wrong. You can buy whatever you want and however expensive it may be. But overspending just for status or show-off often traps people in debt, stress, and pressure. Many people spend months paying EMIs for things they barely enjoy after the first week.
Looking good on the outside doesn’t automatically bring peace on the inside. True happiness is rarely found in a price tag.
How We Learn Happiness the Wrong Way
Give a child a new pencil, and he’ll jump with joy.
Something small, simple, and inexpensive can make a child genuinely happy. But as we grow older, we start observing adults — and that’s where things shift.
We learn that “expensive is better.”
We learn that “more is happier.”
We learn that happiness must look impressive to others.
That’s when comparison begins.
We feel jealous if a friend has a bigger bicycle, a better phone, or a more expensive lifestyle. Slowly, happiness turns into a competition. With that logic, the owner of the biggest shopping mall should be the happiest person alive — but we know that’s not true.
Happiness becomes a game of materialism, not fulfillment.
Happiness Cannot Be Bought
Happiness is not something you can purchase — it’s something you create.
It’s an emotion that comes from within, not a reaction to something outside. Happiness often arrives after effort, growth, and a sense of accomplishment. That quiet satisfaction you feel after doing something meaningful lasts far longer than any purchase.
Expensive things don’t guarantee happiness — and sometimes they prove the opposite.
There’s a story of a teenager who drowned his birthday gift — a Jaguar car — just because he wanted it in black and received it in white. He could have chosen joy. Instead, he chose disappointment.
That moment shows an important truth: happiness is a skill.
Happiness Is a Skill You Can Learn
Being happy isn’t luck. It’s not personality. It’s not privilege.
It’s a skill.
You can find joy in small things, or you can remain unhappy even with the best things in the world. The difference lies in perspective. We are often trained to find what’s wrong instead of what’s right.
Happiness comes when you train your mind to look for meaning, gratitude, and positivity — even in difficult situations. That doesn’t mean ignoring pain. It means not letting pain define your entire experience.
When you learn to find one good thing even in a bad phase, it gives you enough strength to survive and grow through it.
Stop Expecting Others to Make You Happy
Another common mistake we make is expecting others to make us happy — parents, partners, friends, or society.
But happiness is not someone else’s responsibility.
If someone’s words or actions can ruin your entire day, it means you’ve handed them control over your emotions. Words don’t have power on their own — we give them power by attaching emotion and meaning to them.
Expecting someone else to fix your inner state while doing nothing for yourself is unfair — to them and to you.
True happiness begins when you take ownership of your feelings and stop relying on others to regulate your emotions.
Experiences Over Possessions
Instead of spending on things you don’t need, invest in experiences.
Travel. Explore. Read. Learn new skills. Create something. These experiences stay with you for a lifetime. A single meaningful trip can bring more happiness than months of showing off a gadget.
Think about it — the money spent on one phone could fund multiple journeys, stories, and memories. One leaves you with a receipt. The other leaves you with growth.
Even children understand this instinctively. A simple toy or pencil can bring them more joy than an expensive gift ever brings an adult.
Adults forget what children naturally know.
Social Media and the Illusion of Happiness
Social media fuels comparison and FOMO.
We see curated lives — vacations, shopping hauls, achievements — and we assume that’s what happiness looks like. But we are only seeing highlights, not reality.
Happiness is not one-size-fits-all.
For some, it’s travel.
For others, it’s books, art, sports, silence, or solitude.
Comparing your inner life to someone else’s highlight reel will always make you feel empty.
Finding Joy in Simplicity
Happiness doesn’t need to be complicated.
Sometimes lying on the grass and watching clouds brings more peace than buying something expensive. If you’re not happy with yourself, no amount of money, validation, or relationships will fill that gap.
Learn to enjoy your own company. Notice small moments. Create joy intentionally.
Nothing is cheaper than happiness — and nothing is more valuable.
Final Thought
Happiness is not about what you buy or who validates you.
It’s about what you feel, what you create, and what you allow yourself to enjoy.
Don’t chase happiness like a product.
Build it like a habit.
True happiness is simple.
Stop pretending. Stop chasing.
Start creating it — from within.
