We are often told that if we aren’t hustling and grinding, then we won’t make it.
That if we aren’t outworking others, we’ll be left behind.
But what is the end goal? What does success really mean?
My definition of success is doing work that I love and living a long, happy, and healthy life.
And here are the facts to achieve that type of success:
Money can buy happiness, but only to a point
One often-cited study revealed that money stops producing happiness after you make $75,000 per year. More recent research clarifies those findings to show that the happiness gains from income starts to fall off around $70,000, becomes very low by $160,000, and then hits zero around $200,000. You undoubtedly want a comfortable standard of living to minimize financial stress, but chasing huge income as a means to happiness is not a proven strategy.
Working very long hours is not a recipe for productivity or happiness
Research shows that productivity falls sharply after 50 hours per week, and drops off a cliff after 55 hours. In the world’s happiest countries (primarily Scandinavian countries such as Denmark and Sweden), people work hard but rarely put in more than…
