I grew up with the notion that to achieve happiness, you have to achieve externally. You have to be successful to attain happiness. Get A’s in school. Have good relationships. Make money. Reach your goals.
However, this presented quite a problem. You see, these were all ever-moving, ever-changing targets. It was as if I was trying to run a marathon, but some jackass kept moving the finish line of happiness further and further back.
“Success” – or at least my definition of external success – was always just beyond the horizon… which meant that happiness was constantly a few steps beyond my reach.
I eventually learned that I had it all backwards.
Happiness leads to success.
In a study in the 1980s, we learned that optimistic salespeople outsold their pessimistic counterparts by 37%.
At a brokerage firm, employees started the day by sharing good news. Gross revenue increased by 50% that year.
These are just two studies that show how happiness has financial benefits in work performance.
The truth is that numerous studies have shown that people with higher levels of happiness tend to have higher levels of success in work performance, health, income, friendship, and even marriage.
Want to be more successful?
Be happy.
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