19 Mar For your weekend reading pleasure – 2 interesting articles on happiness
Find out why happiness is the key to success, not the other way around; and what factors are associated with happiness…
In the first story, from The Economic Times, NS Rajan writes about happiness being the key to success, not the other way round. The story begins with…
A CEO once remarked with surprising candour: "I don't really care if our people are happy or not, as long as they perform." This statement from a leader stridently driving business outcomes reminded me of the gentle advice of Nobel laureate and medical missionary Albert Schweitzer who said, "Success is not the key to happiness.
Happiness is the key to success." In the course of the people transformation exercises I have been engaged in, we often discover the magic of intangibles that transcend rational realities. We have observed the stark difference between many variables – compliance and commitment, contract and trust, control and empowerment, vision and a shared destiny, performing one's duty and going beyond, and the marked distinction between good and great teams.
The pursuit of happiness has been an eternal quest for mankind. The scriptures, poets and philosophers have long extolled humanity's endeavour in this direction. Thomas Jefferson , the third president of the US, even enshrined it in the American constitution by writing, "We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
If happiness bears such importance in the lives of individuals, can the society they belong to, or organisations they work for, afford to neglect or choose not to be mindful of their responsibility in ensuring this?
Want to read on and find out the answer to this question? If so, JUST CLICK HERE
More locally, the SunHerald probes the links between happiness, marital status and satisfaction; this second article begins with…
Are we happier because we are married? Is there an association between marital status, satisfaction and happiness? The 15-year study of over 24,000 people from Germany from 1984 through 1995 showed that after the initial positive reaction to marriage, people go back to their prior normal levels of satisfaction and happiness.
According to this study, the results of which were published in the "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology," marriage and divorce do not have the same connotations for all people. An individual who is happy with life most likely has a lot of friends – a rich social circle – and therefore has not so much to gain from camaraderie of marriage. In contrast, a lonely person gains a lot by marrying. Likewise, those who are satisfied because they are in happy marriages can lose so much more if their partner passes away.
Additionally, the study points out that most people were not any happier after they got married than before marriage. Even those who were less happy after their spouses had died eventually adapted to the new situation and returned to their early happiness levels.
It goes on to cite more happiness research and refer in further detail to the connections between these important variables, happiness and marriage, so to read more CLICK HERE