I love Scotch. Scotch scotch scotch.
Johnny Walker Black Label used to be my go to. I knew it wasn't the best, but it was very good for the price. Sometimes if I had a bit of extra money I would splurge on a Laphroaig. That was my favorite Scotch, and the hardest to spell. Very petey/smokey. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I really like the intense flavor. I would usually only buy a bottle a couple times a year.
Then I started making more money and I could afford to splurge on some nicer bottles, I tried Dalmore and the first glass of it I had tasted like magic. It was complex, but light and delicious, I was amazed at how good a liquid could taste. I slowly sipped it then I poured another glass from a different bottle. I bought another cheaper bottle at the same time because I didn't want to just plow through my super expensive bottle all at once. I kept it on my shelf for a while, having a drink now and then.
Then I got another bottle on a long trip I was on, it was highly recommended to me, but it didn't give me the same magic the other bottle sitting at home did. I finished it off on my trip and when I got back home, I was excited to drink that amazing bottle I had sitting on the shelf. But when I did, it lost it's magic. The other bottle that was recommended to me was probably great, but I had become accustomed to a better level of scotch so it didn't wow me.
Later I was at a bar and I ordered a Laphroaig again. It didn't taste like I remembered it, it tasted cheap. Basically what I did by moving up to a higher tier of Scotch was just make it cost more to experience the same level of pleasure as I had been before. It occurs to me that the experience I felt first drinking the Dalmore, was very similar to how I felt when I had my first Laphroaig.
I believe the moral of the story i… this is it. There is no lottery ticket, no business promotion, no monetary remedy in any way. I believe some people believe rich people are living a life full of constant pleasure, but I think what happens is they almost immediately adapt to a new standard of living and then feel like everybody else does all the time.
There are things that have increased my happiness recently, however. One of them was not drinking Scotch. Or at least as much, cutting my drinking down has made me feel better most days, focusing on exercise, and more social activities has made me happier. Getting enough sleep. Not looking at social media, not watching the news, only focusing on real stuff happening right in front of me.
Not having enough money to pay the bills can be stressful, but once you have enough for that, the stress goes away, but happiness does not increase, only a reduction of stress. Which is, of course, great. It's going from negative to neutral. Ironically if you start buying more expensive stuff, you have less money for bills and the stress comes back and the need to make more money. If you look at things that way not only does buy nicer things not make you happier, it moves your well being backwards.