When people exercise, we talk about endorphins, but endorphins are just short-term. The reason why exercise is valuable is it trains your brain to believe, 'My behavior matters,' which is optimism.
Shawn AchorRead
Success does not mean happiness. Check out any celebrity magazine to look for examples to disabuse you of thinking that being beautiful, successful or rich will make you happy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True success is not synonymous with happiness; external achievements do not guarantee internal fulfillment.
Shawn Achor's quote suggests that many people mistakenly equate success with happiness, particularly in a society that often glorifies wealth, beauty, and fame. However, he points out that real contentment comes from within and is not necessarily linked to external markers of achievement, highlighting the importance of inner joy over superficial successes.
Themes
SuccessHappinessWealthFameContentment
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about the essence of true happiness.
More from Shawn Achor
All quotes βPositive and engaged brains are a company's greatest assets. More than time and even more than productivity, people must be happy.
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Too many people limit their happiness and success by assuming that taking time off from work will send a negative message to their manager and slow their career advancement.
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The research says that being successful doesn't automatically make you happier, but being happier - being more positive - makes you more successful.
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Waiting to be happy limits our brain's potential for success, whereas cultivating positive brains makes us more motivated, efficient, resilient, creative, and productive, which drives performance upward.
Shawn AchorRead
Constantly scanning the world for the negative comes with a great cost. It undercuts our creativity, raises our stress levels, and lowers our motivation and ability to accomplish goals.
Shawn AchorRead
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