Ali Lilly

Ms.Bogle
English 1010
September 30, 2020

Don’t Indulge. Be Happy.

Have you ever bought something you thought would bring you happiness and it failed to

do so? This is common idea that buying an item can bring you happiness or even lasting joy, but

this is not the case. This is a highly debated subject that almost every person has a different

opinion on, but you can buy happiness it’s just not the way you think you can buy it. Happiness

can bought when you are buying for someone else. Spending money on other people can bring

lasting joy into a person’s life rather than momentary happiness when spending money on

yourself.

The article Don't Indulge. Be Happy. Written by Elizabeth W. Dunn and Michael Norton

lends a piece of advice on true happiness and fulfillment in a person's life.  The reader will find

evidence of how a simple act of generosity can lead to a life of lasting happiness and joy. This

article should be read by anyone who is seeking or yearning happiness in their life.  The reader

may find it hard to believe that what brings true happiness into one's life is such a simple effort,

and after reading this article it can be clear that money can indeed buy happiness depending on

who you are buying for.

Elizabeth Dunn is an associate professor of psychology at the University of British

Columbia. Michael Norton is an associate professor of business admiration at Harvard Business

School. They are the authors of the book Happy Money: The Science of Spending. Together they

wrote the article Don’t Indulge. Be Happy and published it to the New York Times July 7, 2012.

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Ali Lilly
Ms.Bogle
English 1010
September 30, 2020

The use of ethos in this article can be found when the writers utilized many quotes with

in the article that are backed by research such as “Using Gallup data collected from almost half a

million Americans, Researchers at Princeton found that higher household incomes were

associated with better moods on a daily basis…” (Elizabeth Dunn, Michael Norton) This shows a

good sign of credibility in the article. The article it is mentioned that using your money to

promote under indulgence which will cause people to feel happier. It also mentions “…rather

than focusing on how much we’ve got in our bowl, we should think more carefully about what

we do with what we’ve got- which means indulging less.” (Elizabeth Dunn, Michael Norton)

This is a good use of pathos with in this article and it has a good well rounded feel to the article.

It also provides a sense of emotion because it makes the reader think more on the idea of

indulging less and not focusing on our own bowl. The use of logos in this article is evident

throughout the entire article and one example is “Being generous is nice, but would using the

money to benefit someone else actually make you happier…Yes it is not even close.” (Elizabeth

Dunn, Michael Norton) The writers also wrote “…the lesson is clear maximizing out happiness

is not about maximizing our goldfish.” (Elizabeth Dunn, Michael Norton) This article was

written and published in 2012 in the New York Times. The article was published to a very

reputable paper that has been known for decades. With a large audience that the article could

apple to. 2012 also seemed to be the early beginning of the rise in consumer culture. In 2012 the

rise of consuming and the popularity of sharing what you consume, so the article was written in a

time where people needed the message of consuming less for themselves to boost their online

appearance.

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Ali Lilly
Ms.Bogle
English 1010
September 30, 2020

In conclusion the key to buying happiness is buying for someone else. You will feel

happier when you take the time to think about another person and use your hard earned money to

help benefit someone else. The idea that you can buy an item for yourself that can bring you true

lasting happiness is a myth that unfortunately many people choose to believe in. The singer

Ariana Grande once sang “Who ever said money can’t solve your problems, must have not had

enough money to solve ‘em…Happiness is the same price as red bottoms.” Little does she know

that that happiness is the same price as simple act of kindness.

Work Cited

Elizabeth W, Dunn and Michael Norton, “Don’t Indulge be Happy”, New York Times, July 7,

2012, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/opinion/sunday/dont-indulge-be-happy.html?

pagewanted=all&_r=0