Be happy first — 7 ways to be happy right now

It’s Independence Day in the United States. Today, we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which famously includes the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. According to the book The Happiness Equation by Neil Pasricha, the happiness equation we’re taught from a young age is backward.

We think we work hard to achieve success and be happy. Let’s sum it up in the following six words:

Great Work → Big Success → Be Happy

Some examples:

Study hard → Straight A’s → Be happy!

Interview lots → Great job → Be happy!

Work overtime → Get promoted → Be happy!

The problem is that it doesn’t work like this in real life. The model is broken. We do great work and have a big success, but instead of being happy, we just set new goals. We look for the next job, the next degree, or the next promotion. We make a touchdown and then move the goal posts. Why stop at one car when you can have two? We never get to happiness.

The author suggests rearranging the words in the model:

Be Happy → Great Work → Big Success

If we start with being happy, then we feel great. We end up doing great work because we feel great…