Happiness and Success

I came across these two while doing my occasional (serious) reading and I can't help but ask, between the two - which comes first?

That's a tough one! In some cases, I guess it's possible to have both and not really have to worry about losing either. But I have to say I'd go for the former, for I believe that when people are happy, they are generally successful in work, relationship, health and other aspects of life. Of course, some would beg to differ, saying success breeds happiness instead, for when we're successful then only we can be happy. Well, not necessarily. But that's just me, of course.

Try to think about the times when you're happy - what did you feel then? Very pleased, blissful and ecstatic, you would think you had own the world, I guess? Yes, that's because when we're happy we tend to have positive attitude and mood, and people with positive attitude and mood are more likely to be more confident and successful at all they do. This certainly works for me for I have mood swings, oh yes I do! When I'm happy I tend to accomplish a lot of things, but when I'm depressed or annoyed I tend to slack off a bit, procrastinate a lot (hehe) and achieve nothing in return. Reality bites, huh? But that's the truth. 

According to a study, there are nine dimensions of happiness and success and its relation - work life, social relationships, health, perceptions of self and others, sociability and activity, likability and cooperation, prosocial behaviour, physical well-being and coping, and problem solving and creativity. In simpler words: when we're happy, we will enjoy our work more, thus, more work can be done and more positive feedbacks will be in our way. Next, when we're happy, we will enjoy the company of others and are less likely to be alone or feel lonely. In addition, when we're happy, we will have lower stress level, hence better overall health and lower cases of 'smoking, drinking, unhealthy eating habit and weak immune system'. Also, happy people will have higher self confidence and are often positive about things around them. So, they're more outgoing, active, energetic, enjoy trying new things and find joy in everything they do. Because of their optimism, they are more liked by people as they're not selfish and are more open. This makes them a better problem solver and have higher creativity. How's that sound?

But in the end, it doesn't even matter. When opportunities come knocking on your door, we seldom really get to choose between the two. Happiness could make us be more motivated to fulfil our dreams and goals, yet at the same time, having achieved our dreams and goals could make us feel happier and contented with our lives and in a better position to be happy with other people as well. Interestingly, while happiness can be perceived as a form of success, success itself doesn't necessarily mean happiness - yelah, ada juga orang yang ada segala-galanya tapi masih tak gembira dengan hidup diorang. Like I told a student of mine, it all goes back to how we define success. If we define it as happiness, then, if we're happy, we are successful!

We all have options and choices when it comes to happiness and unhappiness. We may not like some of them, but we always have them. In order to get satisfaction in life, I believe we need to find something we love and feel passionate about - whatever it may be. I mean, if we're stuck in a situation, career or relationship where there's no passion,  I think we're just wasting our lives away, and unhappy at that! Mesti akan ada jer benda yang tak kena... So, before that happens, do what we love and love what we do. The only challenge here is to love things we don't like to do (but we have to do it anyway)!

Well, we can talk or write about this for hours and there's still no clear answer, but you get my point. What say you?

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