Why is Happiness the Key to Success?

Who Said, “Happiness is the Key to Success”?

Philosopher Albert Schweitzer once said, “Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”

In the past, work was just about making money, paying bills, and waiting until weekends to live your life.

“Today, a career is about expressing yourself, being creative, contributing to the world, and most of all, prioritizing happiness over anything else.”

The benefit of happiness is obvious because it’s happiness itself. The experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is valuable, meaningful, makes it all worthwhile.

Although, according to research, happiness also improves many other aspects of your career and life, resulting in a more open-minded, productive, and successful being.

Today, we will examine how happiness will benefit your success, and how you can prioritize what matters to you.

Why is Happiness Important for Success?

What Defines Happiness?

Happiness is that feeling that comes over you when you know life is good, and you can’t help but smile. Happiness is a sense of well-being, joy, or contentment.

When people are successful, or safe, or lucky, they feel happiness.

So, why is happiness so important for a successful life, whatever that is to you?

It Relieves Stress

Several studies have found that positive emotions increase your ability to manage stress, while negative emotions can lead to “tunnel vision” where people focus so much on the negative that they become stuck in an endless spiral of worries and fears.

Happiness helps you recover from stress faster, which makes you resilient.

People who experience happiness are also more likely to seek out or have access to resources related to managing stress and anxiety, including:

1. Supportive Peers
2. Therapy or Counseling
3. Stable Financial Support

These resources lead to more frequent positive moods, and an upward spiral is created, which leads to benefits in health, happiness, and life satisfaction.

You Create Stronger Bonds

When you focus on being happy you will be more aligned with people who have the same ideals, goals, and vision as you, which can help you become more successful. 

Here are a few tips on how you can be better at building a bond with anyone:

Be open, vulnerable, and allow them to be the same around you.

Strong relationships open you up to even more experiences that bring you happiness.

What Comes First: Happiness or Success?

Happiness and success are a lot like the chicken and the egg debate: which came first?

Most of us have been raised to believe that if we do certain things, like get good grades, go to a reputable university, graduate and get a good job, we will be happy.

But is that the case?

Research advocates, if you focus on being happy first, you will be more successful. 

From business to education and relationships, every aspect of your life improves when you are comfortable and in a positive state of mind.

That does not mean that you do not set goals, face challenges, and work hard.

It simply means you cultivate a state of happiness and positivity while doing it.

So how does one prioritize happiness over success? Here’re three tips:

To be the most productive and to be the best we can be, we need to focus on our happiness.

Can Money Give You Happiness?

In a 2017 study, researchers at the University of Zurich in Switzerland told 50 people they would receive $100.

Half of the people were asked to commit to spending that money on themselves, and the other half were asked to spend it on someone they knew.

Compared to those who agreed to spend it on themselves, those who agreed to spend money on others usually made more generous decisions throughout the experiment.

They also had more interaction between the parts of the brain that are associated with altruism and happiness and reported a higher level of happiness after the experiment was over.

Happiness is not only a good feeling, but according to research, it’s worth more than money to many people.

Does Hard Work Lead to Happiness?

A 2014 study suggested that happiness has a role to play in workplace productivity. The more satisfied and happy an employee feels, the less likely they are to leave their employer. People who were happy at their job also tend to receive higher pay and better evaluations.

If it’s not a job, maybe it’s a:

• A new hobby you become interested in
• Side business you just launched
• The old project you just started working on again

Either way, happy workers, in general, are more productive, perform more effectively as leaders, generate more sales, take fewer days off due to sickness, and receive higher pay and higher performance ratings across the board.

How Does Success Affect a Person?

Success leads us to dream even bigger than we would have imagined before.

This change in thinking causes us to take actions we never thought we would.

We manifest the courage to move out of our comfort zone and strike in directions that have intimidated us until then.

Happiness, as it turns out, is a necessary key ingredient in a successful life.

Prioritize Your Happiness Today

Now that you understand why you should prioritize happiness and your success, you might wonder how you can do it.

Our life coaching, mentorship, and life visioning programs give you the clarity and direction you need to start living better, so you can find your own key to happiness.

Learn more about our private one-on-one coaching services, and finally make success and happiness your #1 priority!