Study Proves Taking A Vacation Makes You Happier Than A Relationship

The common misconception about marriage and all the platitudes that are carried alongside it is that it is the greatest source of happiness.
It turns out that the age-old adage of freedom and discovery actually brings humans closer to happiness than the traditional bonds of eternal monogamy.
A decade-long international study commissioned by Booking.com on a sample size of 17,000 participants, found subjects got greater emotional fulfillment than from long-term relationships.
Such highlights emerging from the research include participants at 51 percent responding towards favoring travel rather than going on a date with their significant other and going on holiday excursions in preference to experiencing their wedding day at a high 49 percent.
The study, which contained a variety of comparisons to the experience of travel, overwhelmingly placing the act of international travel above the acquisition of material goods at 70 percent.
Further breaking down that 70 percent, 56 percent found their savings going towards holiday excursions, and 48 percent funneling their savings towards going away rather than things such as home renovation, effectively changing the trend to an international scope rather than a domestic one.
In the grand scheme of things, this shift in perspective is nearly obvious with the expansion of social media glorifying the act of travel being a near-religious experience.
Travel liberates people from their daily norms. Shawn Achor, happiness researcher and advocate of positive psychology, states:

“In a world where every dollar and hour count, travelers are looking for a higher return than ever on their investment of time and money. Why take time off and pay money to be more stressed and less happy?”

So go out there, and discover yourself, maybe even bring your significant other, nothing is more fulfilling.