It is so unfair that happy people get to be successful. I mean, they’re already happy. Why should they get success? If there were any justice, the grumpy people would be the ones with success. But that’s not how it works. So if you’re curious to know why happy people are more successful, and how you can make yourself more successful, keep watching.
Our society essentially tells us, you know, study hard, get a good job, marry Mr. or Mrs. Right, buy the house with the white picket fence and all that kind of stuff. But this is a lie. This recipe is terrible. Yes, of course, we get brief blasts of happiness when we accomplish and acquire.
But how long does it really last? I remember when I bought my last car. It has black leather seats, a 450-watt fancy stereo, moonroof and you know, all kinds of bells and whistles. And, oh man, I was super happy when I first got it. But within a few days, I’d kind of hop into the car and I’d scoot off to go to a meeting, and pretty soon, it was the same emotional experience that I had with my previous car.
There was no increased happiness from it. So typically, that’s how acquiring things and accomplishing stuff feels. It’s good at first and then it evaporates. We are taught, fundamentally, a lie about being driven. Go, go, go. Get success and then be happy. This lie drives many of us to stressful jobs, and a constant pursuit of “the next thing.”
The truth is that the formula is, in fact, backward. If you’re happy, first, science shows that you’re much more likely to be successful, second. Now, a meta-study has been done to show just this. All the best and most reliable research on the topic was put together and the results are outstanding. In some, the consensus is clear.
Happy people get more success. Here’s just a few examples. People with high levels of happiness have greater career and income success. People who have lots of positive emotions get way better health outcomes. And people who are happy have stronger, longer-lasting, warmer relationships. And this goes on to things like even how smart we are.
Cognitive tests that show that when we’re in a positive mood, we have better access to memory, better problem solving, better creativity. And we even get more energy, just from being happy. So this stuff is all pretty fantastic, right? When we become happier, not only do we get to be more happy, which is good enough in itself, but we have more of our life goals. We get more success.
So how then do we become happier? Well, one of the best ways of generating happiness, which I talk about more in my video on the methods of generating happiness, is to know and follow your values. I’ve put a link to that video, as well as a tool that will walk you through finding your own values. With my coaching clients, helping them find their values is one of the first things I focus on.
So this should absolutely be your first step, too.
So check out the video and the values tool that I’ve linked below, and I’m sure they’re going to be very useful for you.