Does Success Lead to Happiness? What Science says.

All our goals and dreams of success have one thing in common: We believe they’ll bring us happiness.

That’s why we take big leaps, and go off to chase dreams, shiny objects, and bigger paychecks. We believe that if we could just achieve this one more thing, we would finally be happy. 

But does success lead to happiness?

Or is it the other way around, and happy people are the ones who end up successful? 

Most people believe that happiness follows success. 

But we got it backward. 

Science says: Happiness comes before success

World-class Harvard professor and positive psychologist Shawn Achor says that happiness precedes success. Let me repeat that:

Happiness comes before success.

In other words:

Happy people are more likely to be successful (however you define that).

This is quite a big deal, right? When you consider the fact that most people chase happiness their whole life and do all sorts of funny things to be happy, this is a game changer. 

Wait, what is positive psychology again?

Now in case you’ve never heard of positive psychology; it’s a revolutionary new-ish approach to traditional psychology.

Positive psychologists don’t focus on mental health and curing things like depression or anxiety. 

Definition of positive psychology

Here’s a definition of positive psychology from Psychology Today for you: 

Positive psychology is a branch of psychology focused on the character strengths and behaviors that allow individuals to build a life of meaning and purpose—to move beyond surviving to flourishing. Theorists and researchers in the field have sought to identify the elements of a good life.

In essence, positive psychology researchers are trying to help people become happier.

If you think about it, happiness and general mental health are two different things – are we trying to no longer feel bad (clinical psychology) or are we trying to feel genuinely good (positive psychology)? 

Historically, psychology has spent most of its time trying to understand mental health and disorders. It’s a pretty recent development (measured in researcher time, where 20 years are nothing) that scientists and practicioners are looking at what helps humans thrive, be happy, and find meaning. 

If you want to learn more about positive psychology I suggest this quick video by OG youtuber and mental health advocate Ana Akana. As a psychologist myself, I think this is a great explanation of positive psychology in simple terms.

So does success lead to happiness?

Back to our original chicken-and-egg question of success vs. happiness. Positive psychology researcher Mr. Achor is certain that happiness leads to success. Here’s how he explains it in his book The Happiness Advantage:

“More than a decade of groundbreaking research in the fields of positive psychology and neuroscience has proven in no uncertain terms that the relationship between success and happiness works the other way around.

Thanks to this cutting-edge science, we now know that happiness is the *precursor* to success, not merely the result. And that happiness and optimism actually fuel performance and achievement — giving us the competitive edge that I call the Happiness Advantage.

It turns out that our brains are literally hardwired to perform at their best not when they are negative or even neutral, but when they are positive. When we are happy — when our mindset and mood are positive — we are smarter, more motivated, and thus more successful.” 

Those are some pretty clear words, I would say! Happiness does come before success.

There you have it: Happiness comes first, success follows (maybe).

Now what does this mean for us?

Happiness vs. Success: Can you really prioritize happiness?

If you care about productivity and achieving your goals, making time for something as “frivolous” as being happy might sound absurd.

But as we have established, happiness might be a very productive and efficient use of your time. And of course, it has so much merit in and of itself – why wouldn’t we want to be happy just for the sake of it?

Here is what I’d love for you to take away from this article:

1. Hapiness comes before success, you don’t need to be successful to be happy.
2. Making happiness a priority is a good idea for anyone, including ambitious people.
3. Don’t wait for happiness to arrive after you have achieved one more thing.

How to be happy before success

It’s so easy to slip into thinking that you won’t be happy until you have reached your goals. As a psychologist, I see this all the time with my clients. There’s a sense that if only they could solve their productivity issues, or find a way to work on their goals more reliably – then they’ll be happy.

And what happens when you put all this pressure on yourself to achieve first? You pack a ton of things on your plate, work until burnout, until one day you are so miserable and overwhelmed that you want to crawl into bed and sleep until New Year’s Eve. It’s not fun.

I have more than a decade of experience supporting lovely ambitous people who are trying to build a meaningful life for themselves, minus the constant overwhelm and pressure.

Here is what I have seen work: Making happiness a priority first, and not conditional on your achievements. Letting yourself take time off at night whether you’ve crossed everything off your to-do list or not. Working on your self-compassion (gasp). Essentially; letting yourself be a human with needs who gets to experience and enjoy life vs. treating yourself like a productivity robot that only gets rewarded when the day has gone perfectly.

So I urge you to make happiness a priority now. Not when you “get there”.

How?

Do more of the little things each day that make you feel good. Don’t punish yourself when you have a bad day at work. Spend your evenings having actual free time vs. doom scrolling or staring at a screen until you’re so exhausted you fall into bed.

Don’t postpone your happiness until you are successful or have figured out productivity for good.

Here’s what you can do right now to make that shift. Ask yourself:

What do I need right now? What would feel nice?

That could be anything from eating ice cream in the park to finally donating that box of stuff that has been cluttering your living room for ages. Maybe all you have the headspace for is closing your eyes and taking a deep breath.

Doing small things like that can make all the difference in how we feel throughout the day, which makes it easier to tackle the big vision stuff to shape your life in the way that, well, makes you happy.