How to ask the right questions. How to ask questions correctly Asking how

Ask a question

To ask a question to ASK, - we are, - you are, - you are, - we are, - we are, - we are sulking; -alias, -alas, -alos and -alis; -hay; -avish; owls.

Explanatory dictionary Ozhegova. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949-1992 .

See what "Ask a question" is in other dictionaries:

ASK, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, led. ask yourself, ask. time. wondered, wondered; asked, sover. (to ask). 1. what. To be engaged in solving something, to set yourself a goal, a task. I set myself a goal ... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

ASK, Amsya, Ashya, Astsya, Adyim, Adytsya, Adyatsya Alsya, Alas, Alos and Alos; aysya; failed; sover. 1. what. Put in front of you what n. task, goal (colloquial). Z. aim to learn languages. 2. (1st person and 2nd person not used). Stand out, succeed ... ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

ask- the question is an action, an indirect object ...

a question- to ask a question an action, an indirect object to ask a question an action, an indirect object to answer a question an action, an indirect object ... Verb collocation of non-subject names

Give, give, give, give, give, give; ask yourself; wondered, played, elk; asked; St. 1. what. Assign, set yourself to do. Z. question. Z. aim to learn languages. Z. the desire to get into the national team. 2.only 3 liters. Spread ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

ask- yes / msya, yes / stsya, yes / stsya, dadi / msya, dadi / tees, dadu / tsya; back / ysya; ass / lsya, la / s, lo / s; back / top; St. see also. ask 1) what. Assign, set yourself to do. Ass / t ... Dictionary of many expressions

- 'BEING AND TIME' ('Sein und Zeit', 1927) Heidegger's main work. Two books are traditionally thought to have influenced the creation of B. & V., Brentano's The Meaning of Being According to Aristotle and Husserl's Logical Investigations. The first of them ... ... History of Philosophy: An Encyclopedia

- - a famous poet, statesman and public figure the second half of the last and the first quarter of the present century (b. July 3, 1743, d. July 8, 1816). His ancestor, the Tatar murza Bagrim, in the 15th century, during the reign of Vasily ... ... Big biographical encyclopedia

In the period from August 14 to August 16, 2008, the leaders of the states involved in hostilities signed a plan for the peaceful settlement of the Georgian South Ossetian conflict ("Medvedev Sarkozy's Plan"), which formally fixed the end ... Wikipedia

Consequences of the war in South Ossetia (2008) In the period from August 14 to August 16, 2008, the leaders of the states involved in the hostilities signed a plan for the peaceful settlement of the Georgian South Ossetian conflict (“Medvedev's plan ... ... Wikipedia

Books

, Knyazeva DV. Having seen the title of the book and its table of contents, many experienced gardeners may ask themselves: what are these hits? After all, such popular plants as peonies, phloxes, lilies and ...
The hits of your garden. Roses, conifers, lianas, lawns, flowering shrubs, D. V. Knyazeva, E. A. Pisarev, M. S. Alexandrova, T. P. Knyazeva. Having seen the title of the book and its table of contents, many experienced gardeners may wonder: what are these hits? After all, such popular plants as peonies, phloxes, lilies and ...

Positive thinking as a therapeutic method has not yet gained widespread acceptance. One reason is that it is rarely used.

First of all, identify the reasons that underlie your negative behavior. Maybe "something always happens" that causes you to fail when success seemed so close? Perhaps, deep down, you consider yourself "unworthy" or undeserving of success? Do you feel awkward in dealing with people? Perhaps you have imagined that it is worse than them or that people are unfriendly towards you? Do you feel anxious and fearful in relatively safe situations? Do you think that the world you live in is hostile, inhospitable, dangerous, or that you somehow "deserve punishment"?

Remember, beliefs are at the core of behavior and emotion. To test the correctness of beliefs, one must ask the question "why"? Is there not a business that you would like to do, a task that you would like to complete, any kind of activity in which you would prefer to realize your abilities, but do not decide, believing that you cannot? So ask the question why?

Why are you sure you can't?

Then clarify: is this confidence based on real facts, on my assumptions, or, perhaps, in general on false conclusions?

Are there compelling reasons for this opinion?

Would I, in a similar situation, come to the same conclusion about another person?

Do not limit yourself to reading these questions. Break your head over them. Think deeply. Let them hit you for a living. I am sure you will feel that you are "cheating" and "robbing" yourself. And if this is the case, shouldn't you be indignant and even very angry with yourself? These emotions can sometimes be great for letting go of false beliefs. Remember how Alfred Adler got "terribly angry" with himself and with the teacher and was able to drop the belief that he was incapable of math? Such cases are not so rare.

An elderly farmer described how he quit smoking when he once forgot his tobacco at home and found that he had to walk back 2 miles. On the way, he suddenly realized that he had become a slave to a habit that degrades his dignity. Angry with himself, he returned to the field and never smoked again.

Renowned lawyer Clarence Darrow once said that his professional ascent began the day he tried to get a $ 2,000 loan to buy a house. The deal was nearing a successful conclusion, but then the wife of the usurer intervened and told her husband: "Don't be a fool, he will never earn enough to pay back the debt." Darrow himself seriously doubted this. But when he heard her words, the very "something" happened in him. Greatly angry with the woman, with himself, he immediately decided that he would certainly succeed.

One of my friends, an entrepreneur, experienced a similar situation. By the age of 40, he could not boast of success at all and was constantly worried about how things would go on, tormented himself with thoughts of his own insolvency, terribly worried about the outcome of each transaction. Full of fear and anxiety, he decided to buy some equipment on credit. However, the seller's wife objected. She didn't believe my friend could pay the bills. At first he bowed his head, and then he was indignant. Why is he treated like that? Why should he live bent over, forever fearing failure? This episode awakened, opened to him his new I, he realized that both the woman's words and her own opinion of herself insult that very "something" in him. At that moment, he had no money, no credit, no opportunity to carry out his plans. But he found a way out and after three years achieved a success he had never dreamed of before.

In this article from my old archive, we'll cover 5 main types of questions... Let's see how they differ, and how each of the 5 types of questions is used. Let's also talk about what to do if the client evades answering ... In principle, there are many classifications of types of questions, in other notes we will get acquainted with other types of questions, and there will not always be 5. There are 5 types of questions in this classification: open, closed, rhetorical, turning points, questions for reflection.

Personally, this classification does not seem to me the most successful, but you can still take something useful from this article ...

So, there are 5 types of questions.

Open questions- these are questions that cannot be answered "yes" or "no", and which require some kind of explanation. They usually start with interrogative words: “what”, “who”, “how”, “how much”, “why”, “what is your opinion”.

With the help of questions of this type, you allow your interlocutor to maneuver: he can, at his discretion, choose the information that he wants to tell you. If you listen to the answer to an open-ended question in the correct emotional state and from the correct role position, so that the respondent feels comfortable, then the person can get carried away with his own answer and even tell you what he was not going to.

Even if this does not happen, then in any case, an open question will transfer the conversation from a monologue to a dialogue.

Open-ended questions are essential when you need additional information or when you want to find out the real motives and position of the interlocutor.

The danger of open-ended questions is that you can lose control of the conversation and not have time to regain control of the negotiations.

Closed questions are questions that can be answered "yes" or "no". They sharply narrow the "room for maneuver" for your interlocutor.

If you ask closed questions in a row, and even with a certain intonation, then the interlocutor may get the impression that he is being interrogated. This can create a tense conversation. Therefore, the softness of intonation is important here - one, alternation of closed questions with something else - two ...

How many closed-ended questions in a row can be asked without the risk of appearing "interrogating" - this is only a matter of your negotiation skills. :) You can do a lot - if they are set in an understandable logical way and with the correct intonation ...

It is clear that closed questions allow you to hold negotiations in your own hands, the control center of the conversation shifts in your direction, as a result of which the interlocutor is deprived of the opportunity to express his opinion.

It is recommended to ask closed questions not when you need to obtain information, but only in those cases when you want to expedite obtaining consent or confirmation of a previously reached agreement. Or you need to "put the squeeze" on a question to the exact wording.

Rhetorical questions serve for a deeper consideration of problems. These questions are not answered directly, as their purpose is to raise new questions and point out unresolved issues, or to secure support for your position from the participants in the conversation through tacit approval. For example: "Can we consider such actions to be normal?"

Tipping points keep the conversation in a fixed direction or raise new issues. They are asked when you have already received sufficient information on one problem and want to switch to another, or when you feel resistance from the interlocutor and are trying to overcome it.

If the interlocutor answers such questions, then the answers usually reveal the vulnerabilities of his position. For example: "What do you think, is it necessary ...", "How is it really going on with you ...", "How do you imagine ..."

Questions to ponder force the interlocutor to reflect, think carefully and comment on what has been said. He is given the opportunity to amend the stated position. As a result, a favorable atmosphere is created based on a common approach to the problem. Examples of such questions: "Do you think that ...?", "Have I correctly understood your opinion that ...?"

These are the 5 types of questions in this classification ... Now let's talk about their use in more detail. Perhaps this is a slightly simplified approach, and I am not ready to unambiguously agree with all the points - and yet ...

Before asking questions to those present, you need to put yourself in their place and think about what might interest them, what they would agree with, and what they would not.

At the beginning of the conversation, take the lead and try to create a supportive atmosphere with closed-ended questions. In this case, you should ask only such questions to which you will definitely get positive answers. By doing this, you will make it easier for yourself to gain agreement and gain the confidence of the other person.

At the next stage, when the boundaries of the areas of information transfer are expanded and opinions are exchanged, mainly open questions should be asked.

After that comes the stage of verification of the information received. Rhetorical questions and questions for reflection prevail here.

At the end of the conversation, use the tipping points to chart a new direction for communication.

What are you trying to achieve by asking these 5 types of questions?

You avoid or significantly reduce the likelihood of a “fight-talk”. After all, any statement (especially not supported by facts) evokes in the interlocutor a spirit of contradiction and counter-arguments in a closed or open form. If you give your statements the form of a question, then thereby soften or neutralize the interlocutor's desire to contradict you.

If the client hesitates to answer, you can, depending on the circumstances, use two tactical moves.

1. Be silent until you get an answer or until the client says he doesn't want to answer the question. In this case, silence turns out to be golden, because when everyone is silent, a person is forced to either answer a difficult question for him, or directly refuse to answer.

2. Ask your question again, after waiting for an opportune moment. If the question is worth it, you can repeat it.

If negotiations are taking place at a fast pace, and the information you are asking about is crucial for making a decision, use the first trick. If you do not need information right now, use the second method - repeat your question as soon as possible. The second way is more flexible and less confrontational. However, if you just need to find out some data, do not be afraid to insist: "Wait, I still need to know ..."

When the client is persistent and unwilling to answer the question posed, it is sometimes appropriate to defuse the situation with a light joke. You can say with a smile: "You are a tough nut to crack!" Or: "Eh, I would have your caution, I would have been Rockefeller." No matter how serious the topic of discussion is, a little humor never hurts. Especially if you are not afraid to play a trick on yourself.

If your client responds with a joke, but still shies away from the answer, you need to go back to being serious and insist on your own, and in the end, you will either get an answer or make sure that you are not getting on with it. A negative result is also a result from which it follows that you need to look for other sources of information.

If a person promises you to return later to discuss a question that interests you, in most cases you have nothing to do but wait (without clearly showing your doubts about his decency). The issue can be of equal importance to both parties. But if one party is interested not to give any information, then the other (in this case, you) may be equally interested in receiving an answer. You must directly ask the question: "When can I expect an answer from your side?" And be sure to write down the promised date and the exact words of the person.

What other options could you add to this list of 5 question types?

What do you do if the interlocutor does not answer your questions?

An important component communicative communication is an ability to ask questions.

Questions are a way of obtaining information and at the same time a way of switching the thoughts of the person with whom you are conducting a conversation in the right direction (who asks questions controls the conversation).

With the help of questions, we pave a bridge for ourselves into the unknown and the indefinite. And since uncertainty and uncertainty are a characteristic feature of the modern, rapidly changing world, the development of the ability to ask questions is very relevant.

“Sorry for the misunderstanding, I misunderstood you” is a phrase that can often be heard in a conversation between people. So, so that you do not have to pronounce it, learn to ask questions correctly. A correctly posed question, allowing to find out the intentions of a partner, helps to avoid misunderstandings and conflicts. Indeed, sometimes, neglecting the opportunity to ask a question, or not asking it at the right time, we open the way for conjectures and speculation, various speculative constructions, create the wrong impression about others, attributing to them non-existent qualities, advantages and disadvantages, which often leads to misunderstandings and conflicts ...

Whoever you are, a leader or an ordinary manager, coach-trainer or psychologist, the ability to ask questions correctly will be useful to you in any area of life. In any conversation, both business and personal, the right questions help:

Show interest in the personality of the partner and interlocutor;
Provide "interpenetration", that is, make your system of values understandable for the interlocutor, while clarifying his system;
Get information, express doubts, show your own position, show trust, be interested in what was said, show leniency and show that you are ready to devote the necessary time to the conversation;
Intercept and keep the initiative in communication;
Transfer the conversation to another topic;
Move from the interlocutor's monologue to dialogue with him.

To learn how to ask questions correctly, one must pay attention to the correctness of building an internal dialogue and study the main types of questions in an external dialogue.

INTERNAL DIALOGUE(questions to myself) organizes our own thinking and helps us formulate thoughts... The relevance and quality, accuracy and consistency of questions that arise in our head greatly affect the effectiveness of most of the actions we take.

In order to organize an internal dialogue, one must understand that its purpose is to analyze any of the problems. A set of relevant questions will help to comprehensively analyze any problem (situation). There are two types of questions.

The first option is seven classic questions:

What? Where? When? Who? How? Why? By what means?

These seven questions allow you to cover the problem situation in its entirety, and make its verbal and logical analysis.

The second option for analyzing the situation is a set of six questions:

Facts - What facts and events are relevant to the situation in question?
Feelings - In general, what feelings do I have in relation to this situation? What are others supposed to be feeling?
Desires - What do I really want? What do others want?
Obstacles - What's stopping me? What's stopping others?
Time - What and when to do?
Means - What are the means I have in order to solve this problem? What means do others have?

Use either of the two when organizing an internal dialogue. When a problem arises, analyze the situation with the help of questions to yourself, bring your thoughts to clarity, and only then start to act.

Importance and relevance EXTERNAL DIALOGUE, consists in the right questions, which are much better than a monotonous monologue. After all, the one who asks is the leader in the conversation. Also, with the help of questions, we show the interlocutor our interest in the conversation and in its deepening. By asking, we express to the person the desire to establish a good relationship with him. But all this happens when the conversation does not resemble and does not look like an interrogation.

Therefore, before starting a conversation or business conversation, prepare a series of questions for the interlocutor, and ask them as soon as you move on to the business part of the conversation (in a regular conversation, as soon as you touch the topic you need). This will give yourself a psychological advantage.

External dialogue questions can be posed in specific forms and are of the following types:

Closed questions... The purpose of closed-ended questions is to get an unambiguous answer (consent or refusal of the interlocutor), "yes" or "no". Such questions are good only when it is necessary to clearly and clearly define the presence of something in the present, past, and sometimes in the future ("Do you use this?", "Have you used it?", "Would you like to try?"), Or attitude to something (“Did you like it?”, “Are you satisfied with this?”) in order to understand how to proceed further. Closed-ended questions (and answering them yes or no) divert our efforts in a certain direction.

You should not immediately push a person by asking such questions to make a final decision. Remember, it's easier to persuade than to overpersuade.

Another thing is when you deliberately ask a closed question, which is difficult to answer in denial. For example, referring to generally accepted values (Socrates often used this method): "Agree, life does not stand still?", "Tell me, is quality and guarantees important to you?" Why this is done: the more often a person agrees with us, the wider the zone of mutual understanding (this is one of ways to manipulate). So and vice versa if you cannot pick up correct question, and often hearing "no" in response to leading questions, increases the likelihood of rejection of your offer as a whole. Therefore, achieve agreement in small things, do not start a conversation with contradictions, then it will be easier to achieve the desired result.

Open questions... They do not imply an unambiguous answer, make a person think, better reveal his attitude to your proposal. Open questions are good way obtaining new, detailed information that is very difficult to obtain with the help of closed questions. Consequently, in a conversation it is necessary to use open-ended questions more often, in their various variations.

Ask about the facts that will help you understand the situation: "What is there?", "How much?", "How is it decided?", "Who?" etc.

Find out the interests of your interlocutor and the conditions for their satisfaction.

Find out the attitude of your interlocutor to the situation under discussion: "What do you think about this?", "How do you feel about this?"

Suggest, in the form of questions, a different (your) solution to the problem: "Can I act this way ..?", "Why don't we pay attention to such and such an option ..?" This is much better than saying openly: “I propose ...”, “Let's do better this way ...”, “I think ...”.

Be interested in what the statement of your interlocutor is based on: "What are you coming from?", "Why exactly?", "What is the reason for this?"

Clarify everything that is not clear to you: “What (how) exactly?”, “What exactly ..?”, “Because of what?”.

Find out the unaccounted for, both personal and business: "What have we forgotten about?", "What question did we not discuss?", "What's missing?"

If there are doubts, specify their reasons: "What is stopping you?", "What bothers you (does not suit you)?", "What is the reason for doubts?"

Characteristics of open-ended questions:

Activation of the interlocutor, such questions make him think over the answers and express them;
The partner, at his own discretion, chooses what information and arguments to present to us;
With an open question, we take the interlocutor out of the state of restraint and isolation and eliminate possible barriers in communication;
The partner becomes a source of information, ideas and suggestions.

Since, answering open-ended questions, the interlocutor has the opportunity to get away from a specific answer, divert the conversation aside or share only information that is beneficial to him, it is recommended to ask basic and secondary, clarifying and leading questions.

Main questions- are planned in advance, can be both open and closed.

Minor or follow-up questions- spontaneous or planned, they are asked to clarify the answers already voiced to the main questions.

Clarifying questions suggest short and concise answers. They are asked in case of doubt to clarify the nuances. People are almost always willing to delve into the details and nuances of their affairs, so there is no problem here. Unless we ourselves often neglect to ask clarifying questions, while our interlocutors only expect this from us in order to make sure that we have understood everything correctly. Don't hesitate and don't forget to ask follow-up questions!

Suggestive questions These are questions that make a definite answer obvious by their content, i.e. are formulated in such a way as to tell the person what he has to say. It is recommended to ask leading questions when you are dealing with timid and indecisive people, to summarize the conversation, or if the interlocutor starts talking and you need to return the conversation to the right (business) channel, or if you need to confirm the correctness of your judgment (belief in the profitability of your offer) ...

Leading questions sound extremely intrusive. They almost force the interlocutor to acknowledge the correctness of your judgments and agree with you. Therefore, you need to use them extremely carefully.

To know how to ask questions correctly, one must have an idea of all kinds of these questions. The use of questions of all kinds in business and personal conversation allows you to achieve various goals. Let's look at the main types of questions:

Rhetorical questions are set with the aim of eliciting the desired response from people (gaining support, focusing attention, pointing out unresolved problems) and do not require a direct answer. Such questions also strengthen the character and feelings in the speaker's sentence, make the text richer and more emotional. Example: "When will people finally learn to understand each other?"

Rhetorical questions should be formulated in such a way that they sound brief and laconic, are appropriate and understandable. Approval and understanding here is silence in response.

Provocative questions are set with the aim of causing a storm of emotions in the interlocutor (opponent), so that a person, in a fit of passions, gives out hidden information, blurts out something unnecessary. Provocative questions are pure water manipulative influence, but it is sometimes necessary for the good of the business. Just do not forget, before asking such a question, to calculate all the risks associated with it. After all, asking provocative questions you are somewhat challenging.

Confusing questions transfer attention to the area of interest of the questioner, which lies aside from the main direction of the conversation. Such questions are asked either unintentionally (if you are interested in the topic of conversation, you should not ask about things that have nothing to do with it) or deliberately out of a desire to solve some of your own problems, direct the conversation in the direction you need. If, to your confusing question, the interlocutor will suggest that you not be distracted from the topic under discussion, do so, but at the same time note that you want to consider and discuss the topic you declared at another time.

Confusing questions are also asked in order to simply get away from the topic of conversation, either because it is not interesting (if you value communication with this person, you should not do this), or it is inconvenient.

Relay questions- are aimed at getting ahead and require the ability to grasp the partner's remarks on the fly and provoke him to further disclose his position. For example: "Do you want to say that? ..".

Questions to demonstrate your knowledge... Their goal is to show off their own erudition and competence in front of other participants in the conversation, to earn the respect of their partner. This is a form of self-affirmation. When asking such questions, one must be really, and not superficially competent. Because you yourself may be asked to give a detailed answer to your own question.

Mirror question contains part of the statement made by the interlocutor. It is asked so that a person sees his statement from the other side, this helps to optimize the dialogue, to give it true meaning and openness. For example, the phrase “ Never again entrust me with this!", The question follows -" Shouldn't instruct you? Is there anyone else who could handle it just as well?»

The question "Why?", Applied in this case, would cause a defensive reaction, in the form of excuses, excuses and search for imaginary reasons, and could even end in accusations and lead to a conflict. A mirrored question gives a much better result.

Alternative question given in the form open question, but contains multiple options. For example: “Why did you choose the profession of engineer: consciously, followed in the footsteps of your parents or decided to enter the campaign, together with a friend, or maybe you don’t know why?” Alternative questions are asked to activate the non-talkative interlocutor.

The question filling the silence... Good the right question you can fill in the awkward pause that sometimes arises in the conversation.

Soothing Questions have a noticeable calming effect in difficult situations. You should be familiar with them if you have small children. If they are upset about something, you can ask a few questions to distract and calm them down. This technique works immediately, because the questions have to be answered, thereby distracting. Likewise, you can calm an adult down.

Assumes compliance with the following rules:

Brevity is the soul of wit... The question should be short, crisp and clear. This increases the likelihood of responding to it. When you start complex, lengthy reasoning, go far from the topic, you may generally forget what specifically you wanted to ask. And your interlocutor, while you state your question for five minutes, racks his brains about what exactly you want to ask him. And it may so happen that the question remains unheard or misunderstood. If you really want to go from afar, let the explanation (background) sound first, and then a clear and short question.

So that the interlocutor, after your questions, does not have the feeling that he is under interrogation, soften them in intonation. The tone of your question should not show that you are demanding an answer (of course, if this is not a situation when you have no other choice), it should sound in a relaxed manner. Sometimes it will be correct to ask the person you are talking to, ask permission - "Can I ask you a few questions to clarify?"

The ability to ask questions is inextricably linked with the ability to listen to the interlocutor. People are very responsive to those who listen to them attentively. And they will treat your question with the same degree of care. It is also important not only to show your culture and interest, but also not to miss information that can serve as a reason for clarifying questions or for adjusting what has already been prepared.

For various reasons, most people are not ready to answer direct questions (someone has difficulty in presenting, and someone is afraid to convey incorrect information, some do not know the subject well, others are limited by personal or corporate ethics, the reason may be restraint or shyness, etc.) . NS.). In order for a person to give you an answer no matter what, you need to interest him, explain to him that it is in his interests to answer your questions.

Do not ask a question starting with the words: "How could you ...?" or "Why don't you ...?" Correct question it is a request for information, but not as an implicit charge. When the situation requires you to express dissatisfaction with the actions of your partner, it is better to firmly but tactfully tell him about this in an affirmative form, and not in the form of a question.

So, having learned how to ask questions correctly, you can get from the interlocutor the (professional) information you need, understand and get to know him better, find out his position and motives of actions, make more sincere and trusting (friendly) relations with him, activate further cooperation, and also discover weak sides and give him the opportunity to figure out what he is wrong about. It is understandable why psychologists often talk about art, and not about the ability to ask questions.

Can money buy happiness? For example, do economists argue that a lot of money is better? they bring satisfaction to a person. Economists' conclusion: the more money you have, the happier you are, writes Newsweek. However, not everyone agrees with this opinion, writes Newsweek. Full translation of the article publishes inopressa.ru .

This thesis is refuted not only by stars who do not get out of depression, who commit suicide. CEOs, underdog tycoons and other unfortunate rich people. "Psychologists have been researching the relationship between wealth and happiness for decades," writes Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert in his best-selling book Stumbling on Happiness. "And they concluded that money can make people happier if it comes on the transition from extreme poverty to middle class but they do not have a tangible effect in the future. "

This runs counter not only to economic theory, but also to common sense. According to the basic economic theory, the main right that you acquire for additional money? it is the right to choose. If you have $ 20 in your pocket, you can dine with either steak or peanut butter, and if you only have $ 1 at your disposal, you can count on homemade preparations. In addition, the extra money allows you to meet a wider range of wants and needs, and the wider that range, the happier you should be.

Held in different countries Studies in which people are asked how satisfied they are with their lives clearly show that there is a non-linear relationship between the amount of money and the amount of happiness: if money allows you to get out of want and enjoy the comfort of the middle class, it makes you significantly happier ; but you are unlikely to experience something like this when your fortune will go not to millions, but to tens of millions.

“Those Americans who make $ 50,000 a year are significantly happier than their fellow citizens who earn 10,000,” writes Gilbert. the same period. " Another reason for this state of affairs is that a growing salary, especially in conditions of economic growth, creates additional demands and a constant feeling that there is another cool thing that you just need to get hold of.

"Economic well-being is not enough to measure well-being, also because materialism sometimes negatively affects the feeling of well-being,"? Diener and Seligman conclude. If money can't buy happiness, what can you buy it for? Was your grandmother right when she told you what was important? health and friendship, not money and things. Or, as Diener and Seligman write, if it’s not about meeting basic needs, then “changes in the feeling of well-being depend not so much on wealth as on factors such as good relationships with others and interesting job"Other researchers add to this list a sense of contentment, a sense of meaningfulness in life, belonging to social groups and other associations, democracy with its respect for human rights and the rule of law. Veenhoven writes that if the state wants to increase the level of people's satisfaction with life," not so much on economic growth as on policy measures that will ensure good management, freedom, democracy, mutual trust and public safety ".

Surprisingly, but true: happiness cannot be acquired for money, but happiness can help in acquiring money. People who considered themselves happy in their youth tend to have higher incomes in adulthood than those who considered themselves unhappy. It seems that feeling happy can make a person more productive, proactive, and generally help in manifesting qualities that help them achieve higher income. Plus, self-satisfied people are more likely to marry and stay healthy. Both make a person happier).