Working exclusively for money for a long time has a negative impact on people who come to be less and less motivated. The author underlines the fact that the reasons for which we work are more important than the actual work we do. For example, working in order to have enough money to pay for a superior education is definitely more rewarding than working in order to be able to buy Cd players and clothes. Work plays a determinant role in shaping our lives and impacts our happiness in a fundamental manner. Therefore, if we work just to be able to spend more, it is easy to understand that this type of long-term approach to life is unlikely to make us happy. Having lots of things and spending a lot of money in order to increase the number of the things we own is not what will create a good and happy life for us. The media plays an important role here, as advertising no longer tries to sell products, but to impose life style patterns and values for life. As a result we have people comparing themselves with others who are likely to gain ten times more than they do. The result is nothing but more money spending, more debts and naturally more working.

Both authors under discussion suggest that time is a key factor for achieving a good life. Solomon focuses on the so called strategic planning through which one could improve the chances of a better life. Ciulla on the other hand supports the idea according to which leisure is fundamental for one's development, but also for his or her happiness. Linking the ideas in the two articles, we could say that people are more oriented towards the development...

Having a good career implies not only a certain social status, but also a lot of money. Naturally these money can be used in order to buy things. The more and the more expensive the things that we buy, the more apparent our status becomes to the others (and to ourselves).
But is this really the key to happiness and a good life? Both the authors suggest that money is helpful because it can provide us with a decent life style, but is not the most important thing. Becoming dedicated to a life style in which money making is the most important thing is highly likely to make us depressed and unmotivated. Research showed that many people who have planned their careers very well are unhappy because their lives didn't turn out as they hoped. This happens because they thought that a career would bring about all the things necessary for a good life. This assumption is wrong.

From both articles it results that time is perhaps our most valuable resource. Planning becomes a strategic tool because it helps us organize our time in an intelligent manner. But in order to be able to properly organize our time, we need to sort out our priorities. This implies understanding what pour values are and identifying those values, things, actions which we know can make us happy. This is the best way to make sure that we have a good chance to avoid chance and create the life we wish for.

Bibliography:

Ciulla, J.B. Leisure and consumption

Solomon, R.C. Strategic Planning- For the good life