Scientists can predict how happy you are from these five simple habits

Imagine someone came up and offered you a million dollars to guess whether a stranger is a good or bad student.

You won’t see them. All you’ll have is data and key points about that student.

If you had one bullet and it said, “Arrives at class on time,” you wouldn’t have a ton to work with. Plenty of slackers are still punctual.

But if your facts also included, “pays attention” and “studies three hours a day”, you’d probably feel much safer on your million dollar guess.

All of these details are considered correlates. They don’t produce perfect causality, but they do carry statistical significance.

Now, imagine we pivot and do the same exercise with a person’s happiness. Therein lies a great framework to produce a happy person—or close to it.

Embrace these five things, and you’ll be like that latter student who seems much more likely to be on point.

The smartest man I know loves to invoke jealousy on my Instagram feed. He’s a well-paid engineer and his travel photos stir awe in the most cynical wanderlustian.

He’s standing on a sparkling Hawaiian beach with his buddies. He’s snowboarding in white-caked mountains. He doesn’t own a big house or sports cars. A majority of his money goes towards travel. In his posts, he includes the hashtag “#memoriesovermoney.”

He isn’t off.

People who spend their money on experiential purchases tend to be happier than those who buy material things. Moreover, investing in life experiences delivers longer-lasting satisfaction. The thrill of shiny objects decays faster than a well-delivered memory.