#5 FAME

The girls play with Hannah Montana when they're eight, and by 16 they're on MySpace, pouting at the camera in their underwear and watching the friend requests pour in. In a recent survey of high school kids, 51 percent said their ultimate goal was to become famous.

Obviously part of the reason is the perception that anybody can get famous these days--reality TV and YouTube have proven that you can become a celebrity for doing not a goddamned thing.

Experts say where you find kids who desperately want to be famous, you find a history of neglect at home.If you're saying that your parents were awesome and that fame still looks pretty freaking cool, well, we're not done. Studies show nothing is more stressful for a human than when their goals are tied to the approval of others.#4 WEALTH

China is turning into a great object lesson in this, as their economy explodes and incomes skyrocket, but levels of happiness and personal satisfaction are dropping at the same rapid rate.

There's a couple of reasons for it. your brain adjusts feelings of happiness downward after you've reached some goal or other. It regulates the good feelings, presumably so that you have motivation to reach the next goal instead of just lounging by the pool for the rest of your days. The second one is that as social creatures, we compare ourselves to our neighbors. Once you start hanging around the other high earners, you'll want all the stuff they have or more than what they have. Continue reading...

I like the conclusion...

"It may be that taking the focus off your own happiness is what makes happiness possible."

Very interesting read.

i think the FAME one fits with many people we know... *hides*

and you were one of the high school girls in your underwear smiling away on cam?

let's just put the past behind adam. LOL