As a Happiness Expert, I have been helping others for over 20 years, to realize their dreams and reach their goals. I have found that for some, happiness is desired but not worth the effort to apply. Others desire it so much that they make it harder than it has to be to apply to their lives.
Don’t you love being around people who laugh, tell jokes, and find the “fun” in life? I know I do. Have you ever been someplace and people were laughing so hard, and you wanted to know what the laughter was all about? Again, I know I have. Laughter is contagious, it builds relationships, lowers blood pressure and creates social networks. Laughter and happiness have also been shown by scientists to create longevity of life.
Happiness or success: Which comes first for you? (Happiness Advantage)
You probably don’t realize it, but you answer that question every time your brain says, “I’ll be happy when I pay off my mortgage” or “when I fall in love again” or “when I can retire.” The formula is clear: Work harder, then you’ll be successful, then you’ll be happier.
We learned this formula from watching movies and TV commercials, which are heavily invested in having us believe a certain product or lifestyle will make us happy. The whole rags-to-riches American dream is based on the belief that once you finally “make it,” you’ll be content. But we’ve had ample evidence that those celebrities and millionaires aren’t so happy off-camera.
Why the Success-Then-Happiness Formula Doesn’t Work
Actually, there are two reasons. First, every time we hit a success, our brain moves the goalpost of where success is. Second, your brain actually works in the opposite order. The happier your brain, the more successful you feel (and start to act) — not the other way around. Thus our society’s fundamental formula for success and happiness is inherently flawed.
January 2012 cover story for the Harvard Business Review Magazine, made a research case for why happiness leads to success, if you reverse the formula by pursuing happiness first, you wind up with greater happiness and greater success.
12 years at Harvard researching happiness, researchers discovered several ways in which happiness actually boosts success. Dopamine, for example, is a chemical released in the brain when you are happy. This drug not only makes you seek more happiness, it turns on every learning center in the brain, raising your mental focus and making you three times as creative, which, in turn, tends to lead to more and greater success.
If you adopt happiness as a work ethic and you train your brain to be positive just like you exercise to strengthen your body – you will find success. This may sound simple, but how easy is it to go to the gym? Happiness is not something that happens to you. Happiness is created.
For more info on booking a laughter and happiness workshop, training, or team building session, go to www.hilarioushealingproject.com
