Happiness

I posted another article in LinkedIn.

The text:

I've heard my father say time and time again that happiness comes from helping others.  "If I make somebody else happy, I am happy" he would say. 
Wise men have been saying the same thing for centuries. For example:
Nobel Peace Prize receipient Muhammad Yunus stated that, "Making money is a happiness; making other people happy is a superhappiness."
Saint Francis of Assisi stated, "For it is in giving that we receive," and
Martin Luther King Jr. stated, ""...the surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others."
(see The Secret to Happiness Is Helping Others by Jenny Santi).

It turns out that research also supports this assertion. The articles 'Happiness Comes From Making Others Feel Good Rather Than Ourselves, According To A New Study' (Time Magazine Online) and 'If You Want to Be Happy, Try to Make Someone Else Happy' (Greater Good Magazine, Berkeley, University of California) discuss research that show that people derive more happiness from helping others. Researchers Liudmila Titova and Kennon Sheldon compared the strategy of pursuing happiness for oneself with the strategy of pursuing happiness for others. They found that the second brings more personal happiness than the first. Another study led by researcher Milla Titova found that making others happy made participants happier than socializing or making themselves happy. Not only financial generosity can increase one's happiness (spending money on others increases one’s happiness more than spending money on oneself), but also donating time to help someone in need or striving to put the happiness of others above our own.

In my research on achievement and success (which should lead to happiness), I discovered that these seven traits and talents lead to success: perception, preparation/planning, problem-solving, persuasion, patience, perseverance, and panache. Perseverance may be the most important. In life, people have setbacks, they struggle, they fail. They need to persevere to break free from struggles and recover from setbacks and failures. Patience is usually required.
Persuasion is needed to sell ideas, to convince others of something, for making others see things as you do, or for garnering support. Persuasion is known as a great superpower.
Perception deals with seeing things clearly, and also viewpoints, ideas, thinking, and vision.
Preparation/Planning is needed to formulate a strategy, to think through issues.
Problem-solving is needed to deal with all the problems that may crop up. Creative solutions to problems is a plus.
Panache has to do with confidence, style, charisma, and character.

(End note: The 7Ps for success remind me of the 7Cs of driving - a topic my father always likes to discuss.)