Financial security and success = happiness….right?
That’s at least what we have been taught in our American society. We push more, work harder, and admire those who climb to the top of the C-Suite. Thinking that with all that hard work and money, those who make it to the “top” surely must be happy.
We as a human species are obsessed with happiness. The “pursuit of happiness” is a pillar of our American Declaration of Independence. Over 2,000 years ago Aristotle devoted more writing to the topic of happiness than any thinker before that.
But a key point that Aristotle makes – and that I think overworked Americans have over time discarded – is that to live a genuinely happy life requires the fulfillment of a broad range of conditions, including physical as well as mental well-being.
Mind, body, spirit.
Flipping the Happiness Formula
Shawn Achor, Harvard lecturer and author of, “The Happiness Advantage,” conducted one of the largest studies ever on happiness and human potential. He found that happiness actually fuels success and performance, not the other way around. Why? Because when we are happier and more positive we are more engaged, creative, resilient to stress, and productive.
Furthermore, research by two Nobel Prize–winning economists, showed that in the U.S., more money will make you happier up until annual income of around $75,000. And then at that point, even doubling or tripling your salary is not going to improve your well-being on many standard well-being metrics.
So what gives?
You still have an innate desire to be successful too (as well as to be happy) and success may be a driving force in your life up until this point.
But the next high-salary job, the next luxury car, the next half-a-million dollar house, the closet full of expensive clothes…these material things do not equate to happiness. Happiness and well-being can only be developed and honed within yourself through daily care and self-reflection.
Mindfulness as a Pathway to Happiness
In my 22-day Epic Self Care program, we spend the first full week on how to build habits and rituals into your daily life that will cultivate an Epic Mind. Particularly for my busy executives out there, this is your opportunity to learn how to find the time in your day to have a daily plan centered on mindfulness to better respond instead of react to life circumstances.
Yale University psychologist Laurie Santos who leads a class called, “Psychology and the Good Life,” says that one path to happiness is through being more mindful and being more aware. She says:
“It’s no secret that Buddhist monks and other people who spend thousands and thousands of hours practicing mindfulness have a certain calm joy about them. Research shows that meditation helps, even for novices. Even the first couple of times you meditate, you decrease activity in the regions of your brain that wander.”
Meditation, guided imagery, journaling, and quiet / alone time are just a few of the many habits that are discussed and discovered in my program.
Self-care focused on your mental health matters.
Your mind, in all its complexities, is a beautiful and dynamic instrument that you must care for and support with daily practices that promote happiness.
Join my Epic Self Care program today to learn more.
Healthy Epic Hugs,
Melissa
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