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A study was done about matters pertaining to the mood of people who experience sudden extreme events in their lives, such as becoming a quadriplegic or winning one hundred million dollars. What the researchers found is that nearly everyone reverted to their general disposition before the accident or the mind-blowing victory. That is, if you were melancholy or a puddleglum beforehand, afterwards you were likely to eventually revert to type. If you were a cheerful optimist beforehand, you would likely eventually be the same even after a serious accident.
In other words, your disposition is determined more by internal mechanisms rather than external circumstances.
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You heard someone say
If I had his money
I could do things my way
That it's so hard to find
One rich man in ten
With a satisfied mind
"Satisfied Mind" by Jack Rhodes and Red Hays is a classic that's been recorded by many greats including Johny Cash and Bob Dylan, who makes it the opening track on his album Saved.
"Money can't buy happiness" is a familiar palliative when you ain't got none, but what does it really mean? For many, and this happens a lot to athletes, the responsibilities that accompany having money are a weight that distracts them from what they really love, which is playing baseball or basketball or whatever. When it comes to who can they trust to watch the nest egg, well... there have been plenty of sports stars who ended up bankrupt.
Psalm 73 is how I comfort myself when I think on these things. How do you view money?
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