Almost 15 years ago, I read The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor, a psychologist who received his doctorate from Harvard University and is one of the leading voices in the field of positive psychology. The book is a treasure of important ideas and strategies supported by research and written in a reader-friendly, humorous style. Achor’s words in the first paragraph of the Introduction highlighted a major message of his book and resonated with the positive psychology principles that guide my work. I eagerly read the rest of the book.
What “hooked” me in the Introduction? The following simple but profound observation that many of us, whether we realize it or not, adhere to the belief, “If you work hard, you will become successful, and once you become successful, then you’ll be happy. This pattern of belief explains what most motivates us in life. We think: If I just get that raise, or hit the next sales target, I’ll be happy. If I can just get the next good grade, I’ll be happy. If I lose that five pounds, I’ll be happy. And so on. Success first, happiness second.”
I think most of us can think of achievements such as these—a promotion, a completed project, an “A” in a class—that made us feel happy, but for how long? Achor, referring to the question, “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” asserted that the belief that success leads to happiness is backwards, that research in neuroscience and positive psychology indicates that “happiness is the precursor to success, not really the result. And that happiness and optimism actually fuel performance and achievement.”
Achor added, “Waiting to be happy limits our brain’s potential for success, whereas cultivating positive brains makes us more motivated, efficient, resilient, creative, and productive.” In discussing the brain, Achor offered evidence that the brain can change and be rewired throughout our lives. He asserted that positive emotions enhance brain development and “enable us to think more quickly and creatively, become more skilled at complex analysis and problem solving, and see and invent new ways of doing things.”
Happiness Defined
Since The Happiness Advantage focuses on happiness as a central concept, two important questions are how happiness is defined and, based on this definition, how it can be nurtured. Strengthening happiness involves more than placing a smiling face on a student’s paper, or suggesting to someone that they “cheer up,” or, as the well-known song written by Bobby McFerrin advises, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” This is easier said than done. The definition of happiness advanced by Achor is: “The experience of positive emotions—pleasure combined with deeper feelings of meaning and purpose. Happiness implies a positive mood in the present and a positive outlook for the future.”
Happiness, rooted in “positive emotions” and “feelings of meaning and purpose,” reflected my beliefs about the power of positive emotions in all arenas of our lives. For example, in my workshops for educators, I have long emphasized this point: “Your first responsibility as teachers is not to teach reading or science or math or an academic subject.” To avoid seeming to overlook a teacher’s primary role, I quickly added, “Obviously, teaching these subjects is essential; however, I believe your initial responsibility is to foster a sense of belonging and connection with your students and to create a positive classroom environment. Once you build a positive relationship with your students, they will be more receptive to learning from you, and you will be better equipped to make learning more engaging, enjoyable, and meaningful for them.”
To support this position, I often quote the observation, “Kids don’t care what you know until they first know you care.”
At a particular workshop, several teachers approached me during the morning break. They were very pleased that I had emphasized that learning should be fun and exciting, which validated their own viewpoint. They explained that the principal of their school, whom they described as “always glum, never humorous,” often remarked that “students have to realize learning is not always fun.” They acknowledged that learning can be challenging, but that “doesn’t mean it can’t be an exciting and positive experience.”
Unexpectedly, two years later, I received an email from one of the teachers who came up to speak with me at that workshop. She noted that the principal had moved from the district the previous year, and the new principal “believed strongly in creating positivity.” She added that one of several practices they adopted from my workshop was to provide students with an opportunity to engage in contributory activities that involved helping staff or other students. “What an impact that had, especially for some of our most challenging students. It certainly helped to create positive emotions and a sense of purpose.”
As we are all aware, the kind of negative attitude expressed by the first principal is not confined to principals or the school environment. In my consultations, I have witnessed a lack of positive emotions, meaning, and purpose in very different settings, including mental health agencies, law firms, and business organizations. The absence of these qualities was associated with unmet goals, staff dissatisfaction, and poor work productivity.
Flawed Reasoning
Arthur C. Brooks (no relation), a professor at Harvard Business School and the Kennedy School of Public Health and author of The Happiness Files: Insights on Work and Life, is another proponent of the belief that happiness is a foundation for success. In an article published in the Harvard Business Review, Brooks wrote that people desire two main things in their work and career: success and happiness, such as wishing to do well financially, being recognized for what they have achieved, and becoming happier.
Brooks observed, “They first seek success and then assume that success will lead to happiness. But this reasoning is flawed. Chasing success has costs that can end up lowering happiness, as a dedicated, lonely workaholic can tell you.” Brooks explained that this position did not imply you had to choose between success and happiness, that you can achieve both, but you had to reverse the order of the two concepts. “Instead of trying first to get success and hoping it leads to happiness, start by working on your happiness, which will enhance your success.”
In proposing this view, Brooks noted that while people believe that pay increases, especially substantial ones, will have a notable impact on their job satisfaction, research does not bear that out. He added, “Large wage increases have only a small and transitory effect on well-being. . . . Maybe getting a raise isn’t the best strategy to help you love your job.” To buttress this statement, Brooks reported that researchers in 2005 “surveyed hundreds of studies—including experiments to establish causality—and concluded that happiness leads to success in many realms of life, including marriage, friendship, health, income, and work performance.”
The Power of a Service-Oriented Practice
To return to a question I raised earlier, “If positive emotions are a major component of happiness, what actions can be initiated to create, reinforce, and sustain these emotions in ourselves and the daily settings in which we live?”
I plan to address this question in greater detail in my November article, but in this column I want to share one idea advanced by Arthur Brooks that captures one of my favorite strategies (for example, see my June, 2025 article). It was mentioned above in the email I received from the teacher who attended one of my workshops. She emphasized the impact of providing opportunities for students to engage in contributory activities.
Brooks wrote that in his research, he “found that the most meaningful jobs—which bring the most happiness—tend to be those that are service-oriented.” He cautioned that the description of service-oriented not be confined to charitable organizations and that while it’s more difficult in some professions to identify how they are service oriented, it can be done. As an illustration, Brooks reported consulting with a team of researchers tasked with creating bank regulation policies. One of the team, “who was particularly passionate about the project, told me he always remembered that his work mattered, because poor people need access to reasonably priced credit, and that requires less bureaucratic red tape.”
Brooks recommended that people in managerial or leadership positions find ways to show employees that their work enriches the lives of others. One example he shared involved an Amazon warehouse manager who wanted his packagers to appreciate how their work impacted the lives of customers. “One day, the manager brought in a group of highly satisfied Amazon customers, who gave their glowing testimonials to the packagers. I’m told that this did wonders for the warehouse’s morale, because the packagers—who were a step away from seeing how their labor served others—finally saw the fruits of their labor.”
PGDs in Schools and the NFL
Six years ago I wrote an article about “The Impact of PGDs in Schools,” with PGDs representing “Positive Greetings at the Door.” I highlighted research that found that brief gestures by teachers towards students entering the classroom (e.g., saying a student’s name or giving words of encouragement to the student) created positive emotions and resulted in greater student engagement and a reduction in disruptive behavior.
I thought of PGDs and their application in any setting while I was reading the sports pages of The Boston Globe this past Monday. As many of my readers are aware, I am a big sports fan of the professional teams in the Boston area. Mike Vrabel played for the New England Patriots, winning three Super Bowls with the team. He is now the head coach of the Patriots, who won their fourth consecutive game on Sunday, performing well above predictions made before the season began.
Nicole Yang, author of the article, wrote, “Moments after the Patriots beat the Titans Sunday afternoon, coach Mike Vrabel quickly ran through the tunnel to the visitors’ locker room at Nissan Stadium. For the next five or so minutes, Vrabel stood in front of the entrance and congratulated every single player, coach, and staffer that walked through those double doors. . . . Following every Patriots game, win or lose, Vrabel stands by the door to individually acknowledge every person.”
When asked why he thought it was important for him to greet each player after a game, Vrabel talked about how hard the practices were each week. “Then they get to the game, it’s their day to go and put all of that hard work out there. . . . I want to thank and congratulate each and every one. Everybody has a role. Everybody has a job. Those jobs are critical, whether that’s the trainer, the equipment manager, the assistant coach, offensive coordinator, our starters, our special teams players, our backups. It takes everybody to win in this league, and I want to thank them for that. I like to see the look on their faces. I’m happy for them.”
In terms of the chicken or the egg question discussed by Achor, I’m aware that winning creates positive emotions. I also realize that positive emotions by themselves cannot guarantee success in a football game. However, I believe such emotions can be energizing and contribute to getting the best performance from each player, which is likely to lead to more wins.
As Ben Volin, another Globe columnist, wrote, “A good head coach can make all the difference in the NFL. The Patriots seem to have one.” I would add that a good leader in any setting can make all the difference in the world in creating positive emotions that increase the probability of success.