Do you work hard for your money? If, yes, then you get more satisfaction from your cash than Paris Hilton!
I know it’s hard to believe but researchers who study the pleasure center of the brain say that lottery winners, trust-fund babies like Paris, and others who get their money without working for it, do not get as much satisfaction from their cash as those who earn it.
Other studies have shown that people who win the lottery are not happier a year after they win the lottery. And the number of winners who keep their jobs is growing (and so is the number of academics studying lottery winners).
Psychological and behavioral scientists have clearly shown that people get a great deal of satisfaction out of the work they do. The brains of those who work for their money are more stimulated. Ray Crist is living proof!
I’ll never forget the radio story I heard a few years ago about Crist, a chemist who finally stopped working at age 104. (The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t even collect data on workers older than 90!)
Why would you stop doing something you love? For the last two decades of his life, Crist went to work 5 days a week from 8am to 5pm in a research laboratory where he worked on experiments to use plants to remove toxic metals from water, a labor of love that resulted in 20+ published articles. He didn’t do it for the money (in fact, he donated his salary).
“I’m just a working laboratory person. And I don’t exactly call it work because I’m just living,” said Crist.
His story and the studies both suggest that the brain is wired this way by nature. Our brains did not evolve in order to sit on the couch and have things fall in our laps.
We are wired for work, that is to expend effort to pursue worthy goals. Crist did not save the world from toxic chemicals; few scientists see the full realization of their goals during their lifetimes.
What keeps them going, what gives them the drive and passion to get up every day and go to the lab is not money but the vision they have in mind. They can see their destination. It is a goal worthy of the deepest values and highest aspirations.
It is good to have an end to the journey but, as Crist’s life and work clearly demonstrates, it is the journey that matters most.
While money is necessary for the journey, it is not the purpose of the journey.
Ray Crist retired at age 104. He died not long after retirement. He was 105 years, 4 months and 15 days old.
Very nice story! Thank you.