Give me 5 minutes a day and I'll give you a happier, more successful life

Success is whatever you define it to be, but most of us want success in our relationships, health and career.

Happy relationships are important to us all. Happy people are almost always more fun to be with than angry people. Bringing happiness into a relationship helps make it stronger.

But what about success in your career? Does happiness help? Dr. Martin Seligman, an eminent psychologist, says that it does. Happy people get better performance evaluations and high pay he says in his book “Authentic Happiness.” This agrees with many scientific studies. The evidence from many different sources shows that happy people are successful people. See the links at the end of this article.

Sales people are told that if they are in a good mood it is easier to persuade people to buy or to do anything. If you work with people and need to persuade them, this will help. We all have to persuade people from time to time, whether we are salespeople or not.

Psychologist Shawn Achor says that happiness gives you a definite advantage in life and business. “Every business outcome shows improvement when the brains is positive.”

Silicon Valley tells us that taking a break during the workday and doing something fun improves productivity. It might be watching fun videos of cats and babies or playing a short game of ping pong.

Here are some things you can do to increase your happiness.

1. Meet with friends regularly. This actually boosts your immune system and makes you happier.
2. Count your blessings, be grateful every day. Write a list of a few things you are grateful for every day. It really does help.
3. Laugh often. The old saying is true, laughter is the best medicine.
4. Do things that make you happy. Maybe it is playing the guitar, working in the garden, exploring or anything else that you enjoy.
5. Read for enjoyment for 20 minutes. This means read anything that you enjoy reading. The bad things happening in the world that you read in the news probably don’t qualify.
6. Keep a mood diary. There are many apps for mobile phones that help you track your mood and help you focus in on what brings you happiness.

Try apps like Track Your Happiness, (opens in new window) iMoodJournal (opens in new window), or MoodPanda (opens in new window).

Studies show happiness brings success, a  review of 225 papers (opens in new window).

In the book Law of Success by Napoleon Hill, (and also Think and Grow Rich) the author lists 6 steps to success. I added step 7 and 8 to his 6 steps. Over many years, Hill studied hundreds of people who had achieved what they considered to be success in their lives. His books still sell today, even though they were written many years ago. You can get the free ebook Law of Success here.

1. Fix in your mind the exact goal you desire. It is not sufficient merely to say, “I want success.” Be definite as to what that means to you. (There is a psychological reason for definiteness which was described in earlier posts).

2. Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the goal you desire. (There is no such thing as “something for nothing.”)

3. Establish a definite date when you intend to possess the goal you desire.

4. Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action.

5. Write out a clear, concise statement of what you intend to acquire, name the time limit for its acquisition, state what you intend to give in return for it, and describe clearly the plan through which you intend to achieve it.

6. Read your written statement aloud, twice daily, once just before sleeping at night, and once after arising in the morning. AS YOU READ–—SEE AND FEEL AND BELIEVE YOURSELF ALREADY IN POSSESSION OF THE GOAL. Notice it says you must FEEL the good feelings of achieving your goal. I can’t overemphasize this point. If you don’t feel it, you probably won’t achieve your goals if the going gets really tough.

7. Jesus said more than three dozen times that faith is the key to answered prayer. Pray for your goal. Believe that you have received it, even before you see it appear in your life.

8. If the date arrives and you have not accomplished your goal, think of different ways that you can accomplish your goal. Don’t give up. Read or listen to books and lectures that motivate you to keep striving for your goal. Most people have to do this daily.

Jack Canfield tried 144 different publishing companies before finding one that agreed to publish his enormously successful “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series of books. He suggests trying five different things every day to accomplish your goals. He has sold over 155 million books in many languages.

It is important that you follow the instructions described in these steps. It is especially important that you observe, and follow the instructions in the sixth paragraph. You may complain that it is impossible for you to “see yourself in possession of a goal” before you actually have it. Here is where a BURNING DESIRE will come to your aid. If you truly DESIRE something so keenly that your desire is an obsession, you will have no difficulty in convincing yourself that you will acquire it. It is critically important that you are clear about what you want, and to become so determined to have it that you CONVINCE yourself you will have it.