Abundance- The Secret to Living a Rich Life

Have you ever wondered why some of the wealthiest people still feel empty inside, while others with modest means radiate an infectious joy? The answer might surprise you and it’s backed by fascinating research that challenges everything we think we know about what makes your life truly rich.

Let me share a revelation that transformed my understanding of abundance. It happened last year, on a crisp evening, at my friend’s birthday dinner when I witnessed something that made me completely rethink what it means to live a rich life.

My friend, Sarah ( for privacy reason I am using a different name) is very wealthy by conventional standards. In a previous year I was the only guest at her birthday and while I loved the privacy we shared, I made her promise that next year she will have a full house. She’s not an editor who lives in a modest apartment filled with her books and publications and old furniture she’s lovingly restored when relocating to Italy, like me. Yet as I watched her host dinner for twelve in her opulent dining room and while I couldn’t imagine my mismatched chairs squeezed around this stunning table she’d imported from Bali – I saw something remarkable unfold.

The ground floor was cramped, the glasses weren’t half full or empty, but flowing with champagne. I had to be very careful with the plates as they looked really precious, a small token of appreciation from Sarah, who wanted

to share with us the feeling of abundance that came with her vast inheritance. The air was filled with genuine laughter, stories that made us lean in closer and conversations that stretched late into the night. Sarah moved through the space with this quiet contentment that seemed to radiate outward, touching everyone around her.

Here’s what caught me off guard: earlier that same day, I’d been scrolling through social media, feeling that familiar twist of inadequacy as I had no idea what to wear and saw posts about luxury vacations and luxury home purchases and eventually I decided to wear an old dress that I knew my friend always loved. When I arrived, Sarah asked me the most unexpected thing I ever experienced, even I have known her all my adult life. ‘Let’s trade cloths!’ she said. She wanted to feel as rich as me, even I thought she is the rich friend, not me.

Yet sitting at Sarah’s dinner table, watching her effortlessly create this moment of pure connection with total strangers, while she was wearing my old cloths, I realized I was experiencing something far more valuable- her new self.

Later that evening we shared a few tears as she told me how unhappy and challenging her life became since she received the inheritance, how many relationships ended and the emotional void she faced since she lost her old connections. She had to make new connections, building her life from scratch. I was quite surprised to learn that I was the only one who was happy for her new life.

But what really shifted my perspective was what happened after dinner. As she let the staff go, I helped clean up while Sarah shared something that stuck with me. “You know,” she said, while wrapping half of the leftover birthday cake in foil for me to take home: “I used to think I needed to wait until I had the perfect home to host gatherings like this. Then my mom got sick last year and I realized that we don’t get time back. So I learned to stop waiting for ‘someday’ and start living fully right now.”

Her words hit home because they touched on something we all experience at some point: that constant tension between wanting more and recognizing the abundance we already have. This moment crystallized a truth that science has been telling us all along.

A recent study in the Journal of Positive Psychology found that people who regularly practice present-moment awareness report higher levels of life satisfaction, regardless of income level. It’s not about denying our desires for growth or success, it’s about recognizing that abundance resides within you and it is not a destination you need to travel to.

Research from the University of California Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center shows that our brains release the same pleasure chemicals whether we’re experiencing gratitude for simple moments or achieving major life goals. More surprisingly, the neural pathways activated by genuine social connection are the same ones that light up when we feel physically safe and secure – suggesting that meaningful relationships quite literally make us feel “rich” at a biological level.

Recent research from Harvard’s 80-year Study of Adult Development reveals something stunning: it’s not wealth or success that brings life satisfaction, but the quality of our relationships. The study’s director, Robert J. Waldinger, found that participants who were most satisfied with their relationships at age 50 were the healthiest at age 80. In fact, close relationships were better predictors of long and happy lives than wealth, social class, IQ or even genes.

But here’s where it gets really interesting. A Princeton study discovered that emotional well-being and happiness don’t increase much after reaching an income of $75,000 annually. Beyond meeting our basic needs, additional wealth barely moves the needle on our sense of life satisfaction. What does makes you feel abundant? Freedom of choice, giving, meaningful connections and purpose.

Studies show that experiences create more lasting happiness than material possessions. A Cornell University research team found that even the anticipation of experiential purchases brings more joy than awaiting material goods. Why? Because experiences become part of our identity, while possessions remain external to who we are.

The twist in this story? The very things that make life rich are often free or surprisingly accessible. The ability to choose how we spend our mornings, the courage to say no to energy-draining commitments, the joy of giving and even small choices like ignoring your phone while in a conversation, these are the true currencies of a rich life.

What’s most remarkable is how this understanding of richness completely inverts our traditional success metrics. While 61% of Americans report being “very stressed” about money (American Psychological Association, 2022), research shows that practicing gratitude and fostering deep relationships have a more significant impact on perceived life satisfaction than income increases.

The science of happiness reveals that purpose-driven activities trigger the release of neurochemicals like dopamine and serotonin, creating a natural high that no luxury purchase can match. A study published in the Journal of Positive Psychology found that people who engaged in meaningful activities reported higher levels of “elevation” – that warm, opening-of-the-heart sensation that makes life feel truly rich.

So perhaps the secret to a rich life isn’t in your bank account but in your ability to be present, to connect deeply and to align your daily choices with what matters most to you. And here’s the beautiful irony: once you understand this, you realize you don’t need to wait to be rich – you can choose to live a rich life right now.

This might look like a feel-good philosophy, but it’s a scientifically validated path to genuine life satisfaction, in other words, a life of abundance. The question isn’t whether you have enough, but whether you’re brave enough to redefine what “rich life” really means.

Life is wonderful and unpredictable at the same time. One moment, everything feels steady and the next, a sudden shift—a job loss, a health crisis, an unexpected goodbye—reminds us how fragile our reality can be. No one is immune to hardship. We all carry something, whether it’s the weight of loss, the burden of an uncertain future, or the quiet struggles we don’t dare voice aloud.

But what is abundance, really? Is it a number in a bank account, a title on a business card, or a collection of possessions? Or is it something deeper, something untouchable by change of circumstance?

Abundance is not something you can achieve but a gift we all receive at birth. What would change in your life if you measured your wealth by the freedom to give yourself a chance and gift yourself to the world? The 30 Day Abundance Journal is where you start tapping into the limitless potential within you. Enjoy!

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