People who place too much emphasis on materialistic pursuits –
people for whom obtaining wealth and material possessions
takes priority over meaningful relationships, community involvement,
and spirituality – tend to be unhappy people. In general,
they are dissatisfied with their lives, they tend to experience high
levels of negative emotion and low levels of positive emotion,
and they are at risk for a variety of mental disorders. In contrast,
grateful people – people who readily recognize the many
ways that their lives are enriched by the benevolent actions of
others – tend to be extraordinarily happy. They experience high
levels of positive emotion, low levels of negative emotion, are
generally satisfied with their lives