More ‘stuff,’ less creativity!
“My favourite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time. ”
Don’t ask me why, but years ago I became fascinated by the annual publication of the World Happiness Report. Prepared by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, based on polling conducted by the Gallup organization, it reflects how happy people in 149 countries perceive themselves to be. It examines factors that impact happiness, and ranks cities and countries, from happiest to most miserable.
The report includes articles by experts in economics, psychology and other disciplines, who put the survey data into context and examine the objective benefits of happiness, the progress of nations, associated mental health issues and public policy implications.
The report uses six variables to measure the quality of life and resulting levels of happiness. These include: GDP per capita; social support; healthy life expectancy; freedom; generosity; and absence of corruption.
The 2020 report was published in March of 2021. It advised that if you want to live in the happiest country in the world, pack your bags and fly to Finland. For the third year running, Finland remains the happiest country in the world. If you’ve always dreamed of moving to Denmark, that Nordic nation ranked second. Or, if you’re into skiing and fondue, move to Switzerland, which had the third-highest happiness rating. (At the dismal far end of the spectrum, Afghanistan was deemed the least happy country in the world in 2021.)
What I find interesting about the variables used in the study is that wealth or material goods are not included as a measurement of happiness. This is no surprise, as there is substantial evidence that there is no correlation between money, physical ‘stuff’ and personal happiness.
You’d be mistaken if you automatically assumed that billionaires, with their yachts, exotic holidays and luxury homes, are supremely happy. In 2006, Princeton University psychologist, economist and author Daniel Kahneman and a team of other academics published the results of a study titled, ‘Would You Be Happier If You Were Richer? A Focusing Illusion.’
Kahneman’s study challenged the assumption that wealth leads to happiness. The team found that although people with high incomes are more likely than others to say they’re generally happy with their lives, this virtually disappears when they make a moment-to-moment assessment of how happy they really are.
But what is interesting about both the UN survey and the Princeton research is that many people worldwide still feel that success, and therefore happiness, is measured based by how much stuff you own.
A 2013 a study conducted by the global research firm IPSOS surveyed people from 20 countries to gauge the importance of material things vis-à-vis how successful one feels. The first question asked whether respondents agreed that ‘I measure my success by the things I own.’ The top three countries whose citizens said ‘yes’ were China (71%), India (58%) and Turkey (57%). The researchers then asked respondents if agreed that ‘I feel under a lot of pressure to be successful and make money.’ China was again had the most affirmative responses, with 68% saying yes. South Africa and Russia each had 66% of respondents saying that was the case.
Overall, the research seemed to indicate that there is a correlation between the stage of a country’s development and its tendency to equate money with success. People residing in China, India and Brazil, three of the world’s biggest developing countries, were among the likeliest to measure success by material belongings.
What I find particularly fascinating is that if you look at the positioning of these five countries on the World Happiness Report, you see the following: Brazil ranks 32nd; Russia 73rd; Turkey 93rd; China 94th; and India 144th. And so, the data clearly reflect that the more a country equates success with material possessions, the less happy its citizens actually are.
Going back to creative thinking, this all dovetails with a growing body of evidence showing that the more material goods you have, the less creative you become.
Focusing Illusion
The Princeton study referenced above, published in Science magazine, noted that when people are encouraged to consider the affect of a single factor on their well-being — in this case, money — they’re prone to exaggerate its importance. Kahneman and his colleagues found that standard survey questions, such as those used in the UN’s World Happiness Report, may induce a phenomenon they call ‘focusing illusion.’ In this instance, it would draw people’s attention to their relative affluence.
As such, survey respondents are in effect misled into believing that more money can, and does, make them happier. When you strip away the distorting lens of this focusing illusion, I would argue that the more you dwell on material goods, the less happy you actually become.
The same principles apply to creativity. By focusing on the acquisition of material goods — for example, if you spend lots of time researching and which new car you should buy — you have little time or energy to think creatively. When you then immediately pivot to obsessing over those cool mesh-woven trainers everybody’s wearing, and the expensive Japanese kitchen knife you saw on TV, and that fabulous vintage guitar on eBay, your focus is consumed by material wants. You assign each of these physical things inordinate significance, one after another, which has the effect of neutralizing any creative, blue-sky impulses.
Creativity does not have linear flow, unlike many of the mundane daily tasks you undertake. When you enter into an unstructured, free-flowing creative state, you may spend long periods of time reading, contemplating, sketching out ideas, and loosely trying out possible solutions. You might feel like you aren’t making any clear progress toward your goal, but down deep, the subconscious gears are turning. And then, it happens: you hit on a really great idea, and suddenly have the sense that a solution may be in sight.
On the other hand, the focusing illusion does have a linear flow. You focus on that next material purchase and spend a lot of time thinking about it. That will then be a significant inhibitor to creativity, which will in turn make you less innovative in addressing the challenges and possibilities you’re presented with.
If you want to become more creative, then maybe it is time to shred the credit card.
This extract is taken from Neil Francis’s new book, ‘’The Creative Thinking Book – how to ignite and boost your creativity’’, which will be published on 29th September. It can be pre-ordered from this website, https://www.neil-francis.com/shop-1/p/the-creative-thinking-book, any other good book shops or Amazon.
www.neil-francis.com