13 Keys To Success In Life (With Happiness That Lasts)

Reading time: 15 minutes

What is success in life if it doesn’t come with happiness?

True success brings long-lasting joy, not fleeting happiness. Save these happy keys to success in life.

Success turns tasteless when the pleasure it brings starts to fade within hours. Even when you fully deserve your success, the joy keeps fading.

Fulfilling success lets you accept all your little setbacks and small victories along the way. That wholeness of your journey, when you look back, gives your life meaning.

You don’t have to sacrifice your happiness until you reach success. You may do happy things instead of waiting for happiness to fall into your lap.

Here are the happy keys to success in life:

1. Let yourself be happy at your successes.

Some of us fear being happy. This fear is called cherophobia.

It stops people from fully embracing joy and pleasure in their lives.

It’s like when you don’t want to go on a fun trip because you will have to return to a dull, regular life after.

• Life isn’t about avoiding highs out of fear of the lows. Life is about embracing the good times and letting fulfillment wash over you.
• Don’t put off being happy until you reach some big goal. If you wait too long, you might be too old to enjoy things of enjoyment, or, things you like might not exist anymore.
• Even when success shows up at the wrong time, when your life is full of problems, it’s okay to be happy about it. Despite your struggles, you can bask in your joys, if some.

Do you know what is the arrival fallacy?

It’s the idea that we are not as much and as long happy as we expected to be right after we achieve something big. Happiness is not waiting for us in the future — it’s here and now.

When success comes, the best thing is to let it sink in.

Elon Musk bought Twitter and arrived at its SF office carrying a kitchen sink, saying,

“Let that sink in.”

2. Luck matters a lot, but it needs preparation.

Luck plays a big role in success, but it’s not very powerful on its own.

Think of success as needing three big things:

1. Luck
2. Opportunity
3. Preparation

Seneca, the famous Roman Stoic philosopher, famously remarked that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity.

Imagine this: an opportunity comes knocking, but you’re not ready. Yes, you guessed it—luck just walks right on by.

Being in the right place at the right time counts a lot, but it must accompany the right skills. Much hard work, and many hits and misses, go into being ready for that moment.

We often brand people as getting lucky. But choose to “unsee” the years of preparation they put in while waiting for their lucky moment.

“It was never an overnight success. It started in pubs; we went on to talent contests and then to working men’s clubs. We played Hamburg clubs, and then we started to play town halls and nightclubs, and then ballrooms.”

— Paul McCartney, 1963

3. Connections are the roots of success.

Success in life is built on strong connections. They are like the roots of a tree that flourishes.

Many social media stars claim that following their steps guarantees success. It lures you into buying their course, thinking following their exact process will make it big.

But that’s not how it works. Your path is yours alone, and it’s the connections you make along the way that make the difference.

A solid circle of friends and mentors can open doors for you. An influential and helpful network boosts your speed of success.

Take it from Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers: The Story of Success. He shows how hugely successful people like Bill Gates and The Beatles didn’t just work hard; they also had the right people around them to give them chances that were one in a million.

Those out-of-nowhere opportunities came their way thanks to their connections. Then they stacked up those “freak” chances and “lucky” breaks to achieve extraordinary success.

But here’s another thing to think about your connections:

If you have no one to share your wins with, your accomplishments seem tasteless.

The best part about doing well is celebrating with people who mean the world to you. What’s more joyful than sharing our success stories with our valued connections?

So, as you face life’s ups and downs, remember to keep your friendships strong. It’s not just about getting ahead; it’s about enjoying the ride with others.

Find out what friends can do together to maximize their happiness.

4. Target excellence as you work hard.

Work harder than anyone else in your field.

When you do so, you can see what causes things to fail. The more you fail, the more you learn to fix them.

• First, don’t rely on intentions, but learn how to set your goals.
• Second, don’t be afraid to challenge the competition, however big it is.
• Third, aim for excellence, beginning with self-belief, self-love, and self-discipline.

Excellence is stretching yourself beyond what you can comfortably do. The key lies in reaching out a little more every day, unconcerned about the result.

Excellence is a dynamic attitude to life, about trying to get 1% better every day in any aspect of life.

[Of course, take days off and go on holidays because burnout is a real thing that can make you unproductive for a long time.]

What’s the importance of happiness in a student’s success?

5. Keep your mind in a mindful state.

The future depends on what we do in the present. — Mahatma Gandhi

Success happens in the present moment.

• One key to success in life is to stay maximally focused on the present moment.
• A present awareness doesn’t make you want to regret, change, or overthink the past.
• A mindful state accelerates success by increasing process awareness, which keeps you from worrying about the future.

Mindful ways to be successful in life:

• Lose yourself in the flow of the process.
• Take breaks from time to time to sharpen your skills.
• Seek quick feedback on your performance.
• Polish your skills. Go at it again. Reiterate.

Here’s a 7-Step Beginner’s Guide To Mindfulness.

6. Challenge the limits, but stay realistic.

Move beyond the set limits. Push all the established boundaries.

Do not try to find out what the limits are in your domain. Set your success perimeter, learn the ground rules, then break them whenever you find them caging you in.

But keep your dreams and aspirations realistic; don’t be grandiose.

Success in life does not always come easy. It can take years of perseverance and pushing the limits to achieve what you want in life.

• Steve Jobs, the Apple co-founder, said of this, “Overnight success stories take a long time.”
• Ray Croc, who bought McDonald’s in 1961, says, “I was an overnight success all right, but 30 years is a long, long night.”
• Benedict Cumberbatch, who rose to fame playing Sherlock Holmes, says, “I’m not an overnight success. I’ve been doing it for 12 years. It’s been lovely and varied so far.”

Keep reminding yourself that good times and bad times, neither last forever.

The past is not a compass for the future. Give yourself permission to chart a new course.

— Stephanie Leigh Mulac

7. Resist and Persist on your success path.

This idea of how to be successful in life comes from Stoicism.

• Be persistent. Keep at it until your stipulated time for a break arrives. Take a breather. Then come at it again.
• Be resilient in your approach. If things fail, pause, think, re-evaluate, and then go at it again. Take setbacks in your stride and never dither from walking up to the challenge.

More than a century back, Sigmund Freud proposed something strange that captured the imagination of people from the humanities, the popular press, and modern science.

Freud claimed that people are “wrecked by success.”

In a recent study, psychologists found that there was no link between a person’s success and unhappiness in practically every manner they could think of measuring it.

Freud was wrong. Success won’t wreck you.

Both studies found that exceptionally successful careers were not associated with medical frailty, psychological maladjustment, and compromised interpersonal and family relationships; if anything, overall, people with exceptionally successful careers were medically and psychologically better off.

– Kell, McCabe, Lubinski, et al. (2022)

7. Love your work. Work for love.

Love is an emotion, but it is also a form of social behavior. It can help you become more successful and happier in life.

When love is affection, it can mean a deep attachment to someone or something.

When you love someone, you can strive to achieve things for them that you could never do for yourself.

Love takes you where nothing else can. (By the way, you can find your verve and happiness after any breakup.)

Success, when achieved for love, multiplies your happiness many times over.

Love can also give you a sense of belonging, which is not only a feeling but also an action. Success becomes more meaningful and complete when it is supported by love.

Because love, you know, will exist even if you fail.

On its part, love can give you the strength to get back up and go at it again.

Love to bits the work you do.

Think of what makes your work more fulfilling; do more than that. Love helps you stay on course longer when most have stopped or fallen by the wayside.

8. Collect ideas before they slip away.

Ideas are like shooting stars; they flash by quickly and are gone before you know it. You can’t possibly remember them all without a little help.

So, catch them fast before they vanish.

When an idea pops into your head, jot it down somewhere, or record a quick voice note. You can check these ideas later on, tweak them, or even decide they’re not worth keeping.

But here’s the thing: not all our ideas or beliefs are right.

It’s a good idea to question our assumptions and consider if following them through can make us progress or regress.

We think material things will make us happy, but they don’t keep us happy for too long. Many common myths about happiness can end up making us feel worse.

Check out the 10 happiness myths that are making you miserable.

9. Get a daily journaling routine.

Daily journaling opens and sharpens your mind. It brings clarity and focus to your thoughts and actions.

You also get to understand yourself better. You get to meet your real self on a deeper level, and not escape from it.

It helps you process your traumas, and go forward with renewed creativity and drive.

Journaling is a joy in itself. Those few minutes a day can let you have insights for personal growth (and world peace).

Try to be consistent — instead of trying to be profuse or perfect. Your journal is a space of freedom where you explore your thoughts without judgment.

Let your journal be your sacred space for self-discovery and mindfulness.

In fact, the philosopher King Marcus Aurelius kept a journal of his thoughts and doubts, which is now known as the book ‘Meditations.’

10. Create an action habit.

Procrastination, avoidance, and rumination (overthinking) will not get you far from where you are now. They make you stagnate, and your ideas go stale.

The way out? Action. Once you set your goals, start tackling them one at a time.

That’s how you turn dreams into reality, taking small steps in the direction of your goals.

Elon Musk’s favorite question is, “What did you get done today?”

Daily action, no matter what, transforms your wishes into tangible reality. Do something, even a little action, that will move you closer to where you want to be.

Let consistent action be your topmost guide to achieving your dreams.

Stop procrastinating, wasting time, and avoiding getting to work. Set your goals and act on your priorities one after another.

11. Read a little every day.

Reading is perhaps the best use of your time. And one of the best ways to invest in yourself.

This is the magic of a good book: You soak up life lessons, adventures, and insights without having to live through every experience firsthand.

Read for 20–30 minutes a day.

Find a way to sneak in some reading, however busy your day. Carry a book with you. A Kindle or an audiobook can be your best friend, telling you new ideas, stories, or knowledge.

Empathy is a vital skill for success. It is the bridge that connects us with others, building stronger relationships, and weaving a more inclusive society.

And reading can make us more empathetic.

Stories of diverse people let us peek into their unique lives and struggles. This expands our humanness and develops compassion for others. 

12. Examine your day.

Taking a moment to pause and reflect on your day can be a powerful tool for personal growth.

• Spend 10 minutes reflecting on your day before you turn in for the night. In those 10 minutes, dive into what went well and where you stumbled.
• Notice your negatives, but don’t dwell on them. Rather, recognize the three good things (TGT) that happened in your day.

By consciously thinking about the good things that happened in your day, you reinforce your positive outlook and behaviors.

This daily review is also a catalyst for mending your mistakes. It lets you mark the areas where you failed your expectations. Which shows you what you need to change in your daily routine.

Moreover, this boosts your self-awareness and self-control. You learn to think critically about your choices and their outcomes, which fosters continuous self-improvement.

Over time, your daily introspection can make you more forgiving, less bitter, and more satisfied with your life.

13. Step outside your comfort zone.

Your comfort zones contain nothing novel to ignite fresh insights. You can’t go ahead until you get out of the box.

Most of your growth prospects lie outside the comfort box. So, find the zone that unsettles you a little and step into your discomfort zone.

One way to do so is to deliberately open yourself up for small failures.

Success hinges on your ability to accept failure. That quality of yours persuades people to support you.

Final Words

Briefly, to succeed in life without losing your happiness:

• Keep growing as a person.
• Work daily toward your goals.
• Be persistent in the face of obstacles.
• Know when to unlearn and pivot in another direction.
• Surround yourself with supportive and positive people.

Be happy on your road to success, and never let success make you arrogant.

√ Also Read: What Truly Drives Success: The Psychology of Motivation

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