“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” Albert Schweitzer.
As yourself the following questions: Would having more money make you happier or, would being happier make you more money? Would being less stressed make you happier, or, would being happier make you less stressed?
Many people today believe that if they had more money, or if they were less-stressed they would be happier. Yet what scientific research is now proving is that being happier is more likely to make you financially better off, reduce stress levels, increase life expectancy, improve relationships, relieve depression and anxiety, combat illness and generally improve the quality of our lives exponentially.
All of the successful people I know in all walks of life have one common denominator. They are happy. They find something positive in all they do. They seek lasting inner joy not external transient pleasure.
You were born to be happy
Ask yourself these questions:
Q: Whom would you rather do business with, someone who is happy, energetic, upbeat and enthusiastic, or someone who is gloomy, negative, downtrodden and boring? Not a hard one to answer is it. Yet time and time again I meet great people who are highly intelligent with great products and services who promote themselves in a less than endearing way. If you want to get on in business – get happy!
Q: Who would you rather spend and evening with, someone who is funny, humorous, compassionate, cheerful, optimistic, loving and caring, or someone who is miserable, depressed, boring, selfish, negative and pessimistic? Again, not a hard one to answer is it. If you want to make friends and enjoy your relationships with people – get happy!
The fact is you were born to be happy and being happy brings out the best in people. Happiness is a natural state, and, lets face it, you feel good when you’re happy. Furthermore, when you’re happy you look good too. When your happy your posture is better, your breathing is different; you brain produces more functional chemicals which stimulate every cell in every organ in your body, so you become healthier and look and feel better.
Happiness makes you attractive!
Like Attracts Like – What we Focus on We Get More Of!
Yes, when you are happy you become more attractive, and that means you attract more positive things to you. By its very nature happiness encourages trust – an important factor in any business and relationship.
If you want to create more positive changes in your life, your business and your relationships, then it has to start with you and the way you choose to be in the world. Yes, you may be in a difficult place right now, you may not like your job or the relationship your in, or a thousand and one other things, but these things are merely conditions of the environment and not internal. Therefore, you have the choice in how and what you choose to think about, and what research shows is that those individuals who can find happiness and gratitude in any situation attract more positive things to them.
For example, if you want to generate more money, you need to be happy. That way you will become more attractive to the opportunities for making more money that will come your way. If you want less stress in your life you need to be happy. That way you will become more attractive to the opportunities to be happier which, by default will replace the things that you were looking for that made you stressed. In short, a simple change in focus and perception can change your life.
Happiness makes you more Spontaneous, Optimistic and Enthusiastic
Spontaneity, optimism and enthusiasm are all directly related to a happier state, and all will bring you great gifts. When you choose to be happy you will find that people instantly gravitate to you. People will naturally like you more so your social networks will grow allowing you to meet others on a professional and personal level that you may not have met had you not been happy.
Happiness makes you Wealthier
The following was an e-mail sent to me post one of our one-day courses that we held on Quantum Thinking:
“Dear Mark,
Since applying one simple technique that you showed me on the course I keep literally tripping over business ideas every day. Every day I am coming across new opportunities for making money. Ideas and opportunities are literally coming at me so frequently and so fast that I am continually scribbling them down on my notepad. I never knew that by simply changing my thought process and my focus of attention that I could unleash such a resource of unlimited potential. Thank you.”
In short if you change the way you think you change your life. Happiness generates more money. Money doesn’t generate happiness.
Happiness makes you Healthier
What is also interesting is that people associate physical well-being with being happy when in effect it is the other way round! The true fact is that if you are happy you are much more likely to be in better health!! The science of happiness is increasingly suggesting a link between happiness and health. Dr Derek Cox, Director of Public Health at Dumfries and Galloway NHS, suspects that for decades health professionals have been missing a big trick in improving the health of the nation:
“We’ve spent years saying that giving up smoking could be the single most important thing that we could do for the health of the nation. “And yet there is mounting evidence that happiness might be at least as powerful a predictor, if not a more powerful predictor than some of the other lifestyle factors that we talk about in terms of cigarette smoking, diet, physical activity and those kind of things. If you are happy you are likely in the future to have less in the way of physical illness than those who are unhappy.”
Dr Derek Cox, Director of Public Health
So what are you waiting for?
So there you have it. Being happier can make you financially better off, reduce stress levels, increase life expectancy, improve relationships, relieve depression and anxiety, combat illness and generally improve the quality of our lives exponentially.
Top Tips to Become Happier
- Smile more often. Smiling switches off the fight and flight response and releases natural good hormones into your system.
- Take time out to just sit quietly so that you can be more aware of all that you have and all that you can be grateful of and thankful for.
- Do something nice for someone else. Set yourself a task of doing at least one thing a day that will make someone else happy. Altruism is a great way of increasing happiness.
- Keep a note pad with you at all times. You’ll be surprised how many new ideas will come flooding your way once you become happier!
- Take more exercise. Exercise, even a brisk walk, relieves stress from the body and increases the flow of more positive and functional natural chemicals.
- Take risks. Do one thing each day that you wouldn’t normally do that by doing it will make you smile.
- Dance and sing. You can do this anywhere although you may wish to do so away from public view. Don’t worry about feeling stupid – take a risk on yourself.
- And most importantly, read positive books, listen to positive audios and watch positive programmes. Books are a great source of free or relatively cheap information. In short, you can get inside the minds of many of the worlds great thinkers and achievers for little or no cost.
- Go on a negativity fast. Avoid all sources of negative media and information.
- Be consistent in your approach. Remember, you mind is like any other muscle. If you want it to work effectively you have to train it by feeding it the right information and limiting the negative.
Originally Published: http://www.markdawes.com/mark-dawes-articles/happiness-is-the-key-to-success
