Are Lottery Winners Happier Than You or I?

Experimental psychologists investigating the possibility of happiness have uncovered the futility of pinning our hopes on any good fortune that comes our way. We tend to adjust our attitude when fortune shines down on us, quickly returning to our usual level of happiness. 

In our culture, there is a widely held belief that money solves problems. People think if they had more money, their troubles would be over. 

When a family receives unexpected money, they frequently learn that money can cause as many problems as it solves. 

A study of lottery winners showed that sudden wealth had no lasting effect on happiness. Months after their stroke of luck lottery winners were no happier than non-winners.           

• Bud Post won $16 million in the Pennsylvania lottery, but now lives on his Social Security check. His girlfriend successfully sued him for a share of his winnings. A brother tried to kill him for his money. Other siblings convinced him to contribute to losing business ventures. Bud spent time in jail for firing a gun at a bill collector. Within a year, he was $1 million in debt. (Advice to parents: If you want a wealthy son don’t name him Bud.) 
• Soon after winning $1 million in a lottery, Charles Riddle was divorced, faced several lawsuits and was indicted for selling cocaine. 
• Willie Hurt won $3.1 million. Within two years, he had spent his fortune on crack cocaine.  
• A Southeastern family won $4.2 million. They bought a huge house and lost the rest of the money helping family members pay off debts. 

Lottery winners affirm the belief regarding the distribution of wealth. According to folk legend, if all the money in the treasury was divided evenly amongst all US citizens within a year the previously wealthy would once again possess most of the money. 

The same situation seems to hold true for happiness. Psychological studies indicate that just as we seem to have a set point for wealth, we also have a set point for happiness. Through controlled experiments, psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD has explored ways to beat the genetic set point for happiness. 

According to Dr. Lyubomirsky if happiness resembled an apple pie, the flavor of that pie would depend on the following three factors:      

• 50% of the pie’s happiness depends on our genetic set point. Studies of twins and adoptees show that 50% of our happiness/unhappiness response can be explained by the way Mother Nature mixes the chromosomes we inherit from our parents. An upward swing in happiness eventually falls back to our happiness baseline. Likewise, a mind-messing downswing will  gradually return to our genetic set point for happiness. 
• 10% of the pie’s happiness comes from life circumstances. Our income, marriage, children, occupation, physical health and where we live contributes 10% to our overall chance to experience happiness. 
• 40% of the pie’s flavor develops from learned emotional and behavioral factors. How we act and how we respond to circumstances contributes 40% of our overall chance to experience happiness. We can learn to be happy whether in sunshine or rain, abundance or famine, threat or peace--even when we win the lottery.