False impression
This belief about the link between success and happiness is the reason why we work long years in order to be successful. But this is an artificial construct because success doesn’t necessarily mean we suddenly start feeling happy. In the end, all the pressure, stress and negativity we have experienced on the journey may not bring us the desired reward, which is happiness.
You can be happy right now
If you want to be happy, you can be. If you still have that belief about success ingrained in your mind, start questioning it. Happiness isn’t something that comes after we are successful. It works the other way round: happiness fuels our success.
In his book entitled The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work, Shawn Achor, psychologist and Harvard professor, explains why the afore-mentioned formula for success is simply wrong. The book presents the results of research, suggesting what happens when someone is happy or in a positive frame of mind:
- their level of their thinking rises
- their creativity develops
- their business results improve.
It was found that positive thinking leads, for example, to sales teams performing better or doctors providing more accurate diagnoses. Overall, people in general were one third more productive, according to an article on the addicted2success.com website.
Start with your mindset
In order to achieve better results in whatever you are doing, start by focusing on being happy in your current situation. For example, you might start writing a journal on things you are grateful for. You could also start to meditate and take better care of yourself.
-jk-
Book: Achor, Shawn: The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work. 2010, 256 pages