I explored this question by running two little studies across two different populations: mechanical turk (“mturk,” n=49, all U.S.) vs. my Facebook friends (“FB,” n=111, who tend to be in the U.S.) with different approaches, me hand categorizing written responses vs. participants selecting the category that best matches what they wrote using 24 categories in random order developed from the first study, including an “other” option.

Across the two studies, 71% of free form written responses to the question of “what you want more than anything else in the entire world” fell into just these nine categories:

1. a romantic partner (17% FB vs. 6% mturk)

2. the wellbeing of my family (5% FB vs. 17% mturk)

3. happiness (7% FB vs. 15% mturk)

4. money (8% FB vs. 14% mturk)

5. a markedly positive effect on the world (18% FB vs. 0% mturk)

6. good health (8% FB vs. 6% mturk)

7. a family or children (5% FB vs. 2% mturk)

8. a job with meaning (5% FB vs. 2% mturk)

9. freedom (5% FB vs. 2% mturk)

In the Facebook version, I also asked people to come up with something they could do in the next few days to increase the chance that they eventually get this thing they most want. Surprisingly, 95% of people were able to come up with something that they thought would increase their odds! When asked when they would do this thing, they came up with that would increase their odds of getting what they most want, 75% of people said they would do this thing within the next week, and 62% said they would do it within two days!

Tentative lessons from this data:

(1) The things that people most want in the U.S. tend to fall into just a small number of basic categories: a romantic partner, wellbeing of family, happiness, money, positive impact, health, family/children, meaningful work, freedom. In the mturk study, these nine categories covered 64% of responses, and in the FB study, 78% of responses.

(2) The median time for the entire FB study was 3 minutes, so if you take 3 minutes to think, you can decide how to take action toward the things you most want.

(3) There’s a good chance you can start really soon on this strategy to increase your odds of getting what you most want (e.g., within the next couple of days or at least within a week).

(4) If you have the nine things in the list below (or almost all of them), consider yourself very lucky! You have what people want! Extract every sliver of joy and meaning from what you have while you can!

If you’d like to try this procedure yourself in an easy, step by step fashion, here’s the link to the FB version of the study: http://bit.ly/2DtQQoK

Below are 166 (rather interesting!) size-ordered correlations that I calculated on 870 people in the United States, who were recruited using our study recruitment platform, Positly.

All responses are self-reported by the study participants, mostly measured on a scale of 1-4 or 1-5, except those that suggest a different scale (e.g., number of minutes doing something, age, symptom scores, etc.)

Keep in mind that if A and B are correlated, it could be that A causes B, it could be that B causes A, or it could be that some third thing causes both A and B.

The number shown on each row is the correlation between the thing on the left of the “vs.” and the thing on the right of the “vs.”

—
Huge correlations (~67% of variance explained)

0.82: depression symptom score (PHQ9) vs. anxiety symptom score (GAD7)
0.82: “Taking all things together, I am happy.” (1-5 scale) vs. “In general, I feel confident and positive about myself.” (1-5 scale)
0.75: “How religious do you consider yourself to be?” (0-5 scale) vs. “How spiritual do you consider yourself to be?” (0-5 scale)
0.75: satisfactionWithDatingOrRomanticLife vs. howWellTreatedByRomanticPartner
0.74: socialLiberalness vs. economicLiberalness
0.73: placeOfWorshipAffiliation vs. “How religious do you consider yourself to be?” (0-5 scale)
0.68: “In general, I feel confident and positive about myself.” (1-5 scale) vs. “How optimistic a person are you usually?” (-2 to 2 scale)
0.67: parentsHappyWhenYouWereGrowingUp vs. parentsTreatedWellWhenGrowingUp
0.67: videoGameMinutesPerDayWhenPlays vs. videoGamePlayingDaysPerWeek
0.60: howGoodLifeIsRelativeToExpectations vs. “I feel satisfied with what I am achieving in life.” (1-5 scale)
0.60: enoughMoneyToLiveComfortably vs. moreWealthyThanFriends
0.60: hoursWorkedOnWorkDays vs. daysWorkedPerWeek
0.58: takesAntidepressants vs. hasMentalHealthDiagnosis
0.57: satisfactionWithDatingOrRomanticLife vs. relationshipSeriousness
0.54: takesAntidepressants vs. seeingAMentalHealthProfessional
0.54: “How spiritual do you consider yourself to be?” (0-5 scale) vs. placeOfWorshipAffiliation
0.53: alcoholDaysDrinkingPerWeek vs. drinksPerTimeDrinking

—
Large correlations (~25% of variance explained)

0.50: relationshipSeriousness vs. livesWithOtherPeople
0.49: conscientiousness (2-question big 5 scale) vs. howGoodIsWillpower
0.48: “Taking all things together, I am happy.” (1-5 scale) vs. satisfactionWithDatingOrRomanticLife
0.48: hasDepressiveDisorder vs. takesAntidepressants
0.48: enoughMoneyToLiveComfortably vs. howGoodLifeIsRelativeToExpectations
0.46: relationshipSeriousness vs. hasChildren
0.45: hasDepressiveDisorder vs. hasAnxietyDisorder
0.42: selfReportedHowGoodAtMathComparedToOthers vs. selfReportedIntelligence
0.41: howWellTreatedByRomanticPartner vs. “Taking all things together, I am happy.” (1-5 scale)
0.40: “In general, I feel confident and positive about myself.” (1-5 scale) vs. howGoodIsWillpower
0.40: incomeScore vs. enoughMoneyToLiveComfortably
0.38: age vs. hasBeenDivorced
0.38: howOftenReadsBlogs vs. howOftenReadsTheNews
0.38 : timesSexualActivityWithOtherPersonIn7Days vs. howWellTreatedByRomanticPartner
0.37: moreWealthyThanFriends vs. “I feel satisfied with what I am achieving in life.” (1-5 scale)
0.36: howGoodLifeIsRelativeToExpectations vs. howWellTreatedByRomanticPartner
0.36: hasChildren vs. age
0.36: “Taking all things together, I am happy.” (1-5 scale) vs. enoughMoneyToLiveComfortably
0.36: selfReportedIntelligence vs. selfReportedGoodLookingnessForAge
0.36: selfReportedGoodLookingnessForAge vs. “In general, I feel confident and positive about myself.” (1-5 scale)
0.35 : timesSexualActivityWithOtherPersonIn7Days vs. satisfactionWithDatingOrRomanticLife
0.35: parentsHappyWhenYouWereGrowingUp vs. “In general, I feel confident and positive about myself.” (1-5 scale)
0.34: selfReportedIntelligence vs. considersSelfLifelongLearner
0.34: exerciseDaysPerWeek vs. hoursOutsideWeekly
0.31: homeOwnershipLevel vs. age
0.31: seeingAMentalHealthProfessional vs. depression symptom score (PHQ9)

—
Medium correlations (~9% of variance explained)

0.3: “Taking all things together, I am happy.” (1-5 scale) vs. numberOfCloseFriendsAndFamilyMembers
0.3: homeOwnershipLevel vs. enoughMoneyToLiveComfortably
0.3: depression symptom score (PHQ9) vs. takesAntidepressants
0.3: republican1DemocratNegative1 vs. “How religious do you consider yourself to be?” (0-5 scale)
0.29: earlyTechnologyAdopter vs. appsTheyDownloadedAndUseWeekly
0.28: restednessUponWakingAfterIdealHoursOfSleep vs. “I feel satisfied with what I am achieving in life.” (1-5 scale)
0.28: healthLevel vs. exerciseDaysPerWeek
0.28: healthLevel vs. moreWealthyThanFriends
0.27: educationScore vs. incomeScore
0.27: selfReportedGoodLookingnessForAge vs. moreWealthyThanFriends
0.27 : isChristian vs. republican1DemocratNegative1
0.27: hasAPet vs. isFemale
0.26: selfReportedIntelligence vs. selfReportedGoodnessAndMoralness
0.25: numberOfCloseFriendsAndFamilyMembers vs. “How optimistic a person are you usually?” (-2 to 2 scale)
0.24: “How spiritual do you consider yourself to be?” (0-5 scale) vs. age
0.23: age squared vs. “How spiritual do you consider yourself to be?” (0-5 scale)
0.23: smokeCigarettesFrequency vs. addictedToADrugOtherThanCaffeineOrNicotine
0.23: hoursWorkedOnWorkDays vs. positivenessOfFeelingsAboutJob
0.23: hasAPet vs. isWhite
0.22: selfReportedIntelligence vs. educationScore
0.22: anxiety symptom score (GAD7) vs. takesAntidepressants
0.22: depression symptom score (PHQ9) vs. debtsCannotPayLevel
0.22: “How optimistic a person are you usually?” (-2 to 2 scale) vs. parentsTreatedWellWhenGrowingUp
0.21: hoursPastMidnightGoesToSleep vs. videoGameMinutesPerDayWhenPlays
0.21: hoursOutsideWeekly vs. exerciseMinutesPerExerciseDay
0.21: satisfactionWithDatingOrRomanticLife vs. parentsHappyWhenYouWereGrowingUp
0.21: socialLiberalness vs. homosexuality
0.21 : isChristian vs. hasChildren

—
Small correlations (~4% of variance explained)

0.2: howOftenReadsTheNews vs. considersSelfLifelongLearner
0.2: hoursPastMidnightGoesToSleep vs. depression symptom score (PHQ9)
0.2: earlyTechnologyAdopter vs. internetCapableSmartphone
0.2: howGoodIsWillpower vs. moreWealthyThanFriends
0.2: nightclubAttendance vs. timesSexualActivityWithOtherPersonIn7Days
0.2: daysPerWeekUsesTwitter vs. appsTheyDownloadedAndUseWeekly
0.2: “How spiritual do you consider yourself to be?” (0-5 scale) vs. republican1DemocratNegative1
0.2: enoughMoneyToLiveComfortably vs. positivenessOfFeelingsAboutJob
0.2: bookReadingDaysPerWeek vs. considersSelfLifelongLearner
0.19: daysPerWeekUsesFacebook vs. isFemale
0.19: bodyMassIndex vs. depression symptom score (PHQ9)
0.19: differenceBetweenAverageAndNeededSleepHours vs. “Taking all things together, I am happy.” (1-5 scale)
0.19: selfReportedGoodLookingnessForAge vs. exerciseMinutesPerExerciseDay
0.19: selfReportedIntelligence vs. earlyTechnologyAdopter
0.18: hasAPet vs. daysPerWeekUsesFacebook
0.18: howWellTreatedByRomanticPartner vs. parentsTreatedWellWhenGrowingUp
0.18: “How spiritual do you consider yourself to be?” (0-5 scale) vs. “How optimistic a person are you usually?” (-2 to 2 scale)
0.18: moreWealthyThanFriends vs. timesSexualActivityWithOtherPersonIn7Days
0.18: nightclubAttendance vs. drinksPerTimeDrinking
0.18: incomeScore vs. selfReportedGoodLookingnessForAge
0.17 : firedFromAJobInLast12Months vs. addictedToADrugOtherThanCaffeineOrNicotine
0.17: isFemale vs. “How spiritual do you consider yourself to be?” (0-5 scale)
0.17: numberOfCloseFriendsAndFamilyMembers vs. “How religious do you consider yourself to be?” (0-5 scale)
0.17: selfReportedHowGoodAtMathComparedToOthers vs. selfReportedGoodLookingnessForAge
0.17: educationScore vs. enoughMoneyToLiveComfortably
0.17: selfReportedIntelligence vs. moreWealthyThanFriends
0.17 : timesSexualActivityWithOtherPersonIn7Days vs. healthLevel
0.17: daysPerWeekSpeaksToFriends vs. numberOfCloseFriendsAndFamilyMembers
0.17: “How religious do you consider yourself to be?” (0-5 scale) vs. takingAllThingsTogetherIAmHAPPY
0.16: minutesOnComputerTypicalDay vs. hoursPastMidnightGoesToSleep
0.16: hasBeenDivorced vs. “How spiritual do you consider yourself to be?” (0-5 scale)
0.16 : timesSexualActivityWithOtherPersonIn7Days vs. selfReportedGoodLookingnessForAge
0.16: hoursOutsideWeekly vs. “How optimistic a person are you usually?” (-2 to 2 scale)
0.16: “How spiritual do you consider yourself to be?” (0-5 scale) vs. numberOfCloseFriendsAndFamilyMembers
0.16: educationScore vs. bookReadingDaysPerWeek
0.16: howGoodIsWillpower vs. positivenessOfFeelingsAboutJob
0.16: gotDivorcedInLastTwoYears vs. addictedToADrugOtherThanCaffeineOrNicotine
0.16: howOftenReadsTheNews vs. educationScore
0.16: hasChildren vs. hasAPet
0.16: differenceBetweenAverageAndNeededSleepHours vs. exerciseDaysPerWeek
0.16: bodyMassIndex vs. chronicMedicalConditionSeriousness

—
Tiny correlation (~2% of variance explained)

0.15: anxiety symptom score (GAD7) vs. socialLiberalness
0.15: restednessUponWakingAfterIdealHoursOfSleep vs. positivenessOfFeelingsAboutJob
0.15: relationshipSeriousness vs. republican1DemocratNegative1
0.15: daysPerWeekSpeaksToFriends vs. howOftenReadsTheNews
0.15: alcoholDaysDrinkingPerWeek vs. smokeCigarettesFrequency
0.15: gotDivorcedInLastTwoYears vs. firedFromAJobInLast12Months
0.15: selfReportedGoodLookingnessForAge vs. satisfactionWithDatingOrRomanticLife
0.15: videoGameMinutesPerDayWhenPlays vs. bookReadingMinutesPerDayWhenRead
0.14: parentsHappyWhenYouWereGrowingUp vs. selfReportedGoodLookingnessForAge
0.14: isChristian vs. daysPerWeekUsesFacebook
0.14: considersSelfLifelongLearner vs. howOftenReadsBlogs
0.14: healthLevel vs. differenceBetweenAverageAndNeededSleepHours
0.14 : republican1DemocratNegative1 vs. homeOwnershipLevel
0.13: hasAPet vs. mentalIllnessInFamilyLevel
0.13: economicLiberalness vs. daysPerWeekUsesTwitter
0.13: economicLiberalness vs. hoursPastMidnightGoesToSleep
0.13: seeingAMentalHealthProfessional vs. gotDivorcedInLastTwoYears
0.13: videoGamePlayingDaysPerWeek vs. bodyMassIndex
0.13: “How spiritual do you consider yourself to be?” (0-5 scale) vs. physicalDisabilityLevel
0.12: bornInUS vs. hasAPet
0.12: howGoodIsWillpower vs. numberOfCloseFriendsAndFamilyMembers
0.12: howOftenReadsBlogs vs. educationScore
0.12: “How optimistic a person are you usually?” (-2 to 2 scale) vs. hasBeenDivorced
0.12: parentsTreatedWellWhenGrowingUp vs. “How religious do you consider yourself to be?” (0-5 scale)
0.12: urbannessOfLocation vs. economicLiberalness
0.12: isFemale vs. depression symptom score (PHQ9)
0.11: nightclubAttendance vs. selfReportedGoodLookingnessForAge
0.11: howOftenReadsTheNews vs. daysPerWeekUsesTwitter
0.11: worksMoreThanWouldLike vs. depression symptom score (PHQ9)
0.11: incomeScore vs. hasAPet
0.11: parentsHappyWhenYouWereGrowingUp vs. howGoodIsWillpower
0.11: isFemale vs. hasMentalHealthDiagnosis
0.11: hasAnxietyDisorder vs. hasAPet
0.11: usCitizen vs. isWhite
0.11: howOftenReadsBlogs vs. socialLiberalness
0.11 : firedFromAJobInLast12Months vs. nightclubAttendance
0.11: educationScore vs. appsTheyDownloadedAndUseWeekly

—
Negligible correlations (~1% of variance explained)

0.10: videoGameMinutesPerDayWhenPlays vs. hasMentalHealthDiagnosis
0.09: Points (gad7) vs. smokeCigarettesFrequency
0.09: healthLevel vs. alcoholDaysDrinkingPerWeek
0.09: howOftenReadsTheNews vs. incomeScore
0.08: selfReportedHowGoodAtMathComparedToOthers vs. howOftenReadsTheNews
0.07: physicalDisabilityLevel vs. lookingForWork
0.07: isMidwestUSRegion vs. hasChildren
0.07: gotDivorcedInLastTwoY

This piece was first written on January 13, 2018, and first appeared on my website on July 30, 2025.