What Makes You Successful Won’t Make You Happy

Do you ever think “If I achieve goal X, I will be happy”?

What are some traits that make you successful at work? Let’s go over a few things that a lot of people who’re doing well usually do:

1. Sacrifice the present for tomorrow: People who achieve substantial goals usually spend years getting there. An athlete who wins a gold medal at the Olympics usually dedicates their whole life to the end goal of winning.
2. Working through pain: We’re all human beings, and human beings get hurt, physically and mentally. People who succeed usually succeed despite being hurt. They have a higher pain tolerance. They persevere.
3. Single-minded focus: When someone has a very high aim, they give that aim almost all their attention and energy. They just do that one thing for years.

Depending on the type of person you ask, you’ll get a different response based on the above. Some people say, “That’s the only way to succeed.” And other people say, “That’s just too much.”

Whether you like it or not, the only way to achieve things that most people don’t is to do what most people never do. And some of those things are listed above. But those things will not lead to happiness. We need different traits to become happy.