“That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Money for nothin’ and your surf trip for free.”

Apologies to Dire Straits for tweaking their infamous lyric, I took it upon myself to replace the dated, non pc “Chick” with surf trips.

I’m sure everyone is cool with that, and I am confident you’re ok with the recent news that many of us are receiving a tax rebate in coming weeks?

Throw in the recent interest rate cuts and the fact that Perfect Wave have some impressive last minute surf charter and surf resort sales on offer right now, and it begs the question.

What are you going to spend your bonus ca$h on?
Where are you gonna go?

Oh and one last thing to ponder……

Buying Material Things Isn’t Going to Stoke You Out!

According to a study recently conducted at Cornell University, Thomas Gilovich, a psychology professor at the university, has revealed that people experience the same amount of happiness when making a purchase they want and when they travel. And here’s the critical quote, Thomas said, “While the happiness you derive from a purchase reduces over time, the memories of your traveling experience still supply you with happiness hormones for a long time.”

Why?

Gilovich said, “Adaptation is one of the enemies of happiness.” You buy things to make you happy, and you succeed for only a short while. Soon, you adapt to the things that used to bring you happiness.”

So, what’s The secret to sustained stoke?

Experience!

Whilst buying new material things may give you novelty, it totally lacks the key ingredient to bring you sustained happiness. Gilovich says, “Your experience is a bigger part of yourself than your material goods. You may actually like your purchases and you may even go to the extent of thinking that a part of you is connected to that stuff; however, they are separate from your identity. On the other hand, your travel experiences are part of who you are.”

Your richest and most cherished memories aren’t from the material goods you’ve bought. Rather, they’re a total sum of the life experiences you’ve had.

Traveling brings you to new cultures and places. In such an environment, everything around you feels more enriching. Your brain and body alike lose track of time as you’re so keen on absorbing new information.

In our surfing world that can be translated to finding new waves, surfing different set ups, bro-ing down with different crew etc.

That disconnection from the normal surroundings that you’re already adapted to offers an excellent environment for creating happy and lasting memories that are hard to forget or replace.
Robert Waldinger, head of an 80 year old research at Harvard University knows much about happiness. The results from one study revealed that individuals who most connected to their family, friends, community, and other people were the healthiest and happiest.

In light of that, Waldinger says that you need to deepen your relationships by doing new things together with the people in your life. He goes on to explain that experiences connect you to others in a way that material things can’t. To Waldinger, some of the most important experiences in his life are travel. Traveling, he reveals, brought him closer to his family.

Surfing, learning new skills, or going to new places will bring you joy. A new car or gadget will eventually become ordinary, old, and outdated. On the other hand, the memories you create will become a real source of happiness that will stay with you your whole life.

So, invest your ”Money for nothing” in a surf trip experience, and you’ll be investing in your long-term happiness and satisfaction.

Written by:
Ben Horvath

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