Today's Sunday • 9 mins read
“Work hard, become successful; then you’ll be happy.”
Many of us grew up believing this promise. We imagine that a better job, a higher income, or recognition will finally make us feel satisfied.
That may sound sensible, but it is, regrettably, faulty. Chasing that butterfly called success, thinking it will bring lasting happiness, is living a happiness myth.
What actually happens when we achieve a goal?
Can Success Bring Happiness?
Success can bring happiness, but it does not lead to lasting fulfillment. Achievements can give us an emotional lift, but that joy often fades quickly, bringing us back to how we felt before.
Research shows that happiness can precede success, rather than simply follow it. Cheerful individuals earn higher salaries, get better employment opportunities, work in better jobs, and achieve greater workplace productivity than stressed peers.
- College seniors who reported higher well-being received more follow-up job interviews three months later (Personality, Social Activities, Job-Search Behavior, and Interview Success, Burger & Caldwell, 2000).
- Those more cheerful at the start of college had higher incomes later on compared to their college peers (Dispositional Affect and Job Outcomes, Diener & Nickerson, 2002).
- Those who were happy at age 18 were more likely to work satisfying jobs and be financially secure by age 26 (Work experiences and personality development in young adulthood, Roberts & Caspi, 2003).
This gives us a reason to rethink the familiar formula: You can aim high without waiting for happiness as a reward.
Stop chasing success expecting it to make you endlessly happy. Instead, start by being happy, and you can be on the way to greater success.
Happiness fosters more optimism, gratitude, and resilience, which can lead to better job opportunities, exceptional performance, and stronger relationships.
Success ⥇ Happiness
Hedonic Adaptation: Why the Happiness of Success Fades
Hedonic adaptation, sometimes called the hedonic treadmill, is the way our minds adjust our expectations after we achieve something. It is the human psychology of resetting our expectations to new norms.
Imagine receiving a promotion you have wanted for years. At first, the new title feels rewarding. Over time, the role becomes routine, its responsibilities become more noticeable, and your attention shifts toward the next opportunity.
When our circumstances change, what once felt extraordinary becomes ordinary, and our happiness levels settle back to where they were. Soon, our expectations shift, and another milestone starts to feel like what we need to be truly happy.
The achievement still matters, but it simply no longer feels as exciting as it did at the beginning.
This does not make success meaningless. It means that achieving a goal and building a satisfying life are two different tasks.
What Does Happiness Really Mean?
To understand the relationship between success and happiness, it helps to distinguish momentary pleasure from broader satisfaction with life.
Happiness can include enjoying the present. It can also include feeling that your life is meaningful and worthwhile when you reflect on it.
Winning an award may create a moment of joy. Enjoying your everyday life asks a broader question: Are you satisfied with how you spend your time and what you are working toward?
This distinction also leaves room for difficult emotions.
A fulfilling life does not require constant cheerfulness. Frustration, sadness, fear, and disappointment are part of being human. Experiencing them does not mean you have failed at happiness.
Instead of asking, “How can I feel good all the time?” consider: What would make my everyday life feel more worthwhile, even when some days are difficult?
- Find out how to embrace negative emotions.
Can Pursuing Your Passions Make Success More Fulfilling?
You have come across this familiar situation: someone has a promising career, receives praise, and travels for work, but rarely has time to enjoy the places they visit.
From the outside, their life looks successful. From the inside, it can feel like a succession of deadlines.
That example raises an important question: Are your achievements leaving room for the experiences you care about?
Pursuing your interests does not necessarily mean abandoning your career. It may mean protecting some time for activities that make your life enjoyable now.
During a work trip, that could be taking a short walk or watching a sunset. At home, it could be making time for a creative interest rather than postponing it until your workload disappears.
These moments need not be justified by a promise of greater productivity. Enjoying your life is a worthwhile reason in itself.
Can You Be Content and Still Want More?
Yes. Appreciating what you have does not require giving up your ambitions. Start noticing the good in their current lives rather than focusing exclusively on what is missing.
That is especially relevant when each achievement quickly gives way to a new demand:
“I need a better job.”
“Now I need a bigger salary.”
“Now I need more recognition.”
There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting progress. The difficulty comes when progress never feels sufficient to acknowledge.
Try making room for both thoughts:
“I appreciate what I have achieved.”
“I still have goals I want to pursue.”
A simple reflection exercise is to write down three things you appreciated today and why they mattered. They can be small: a helpful conversation, progress on a task, or an enjoyable moment.
The Three Good Things exercise offers a practical starting point.
Does Success Make an Unhappy Person Happier?
Success may bring an unhappy person a welcome moment of pride, relief, or enjoyment. But it is too strong to assume that achievement will resolve everything making their life difficult.
The key question is what you expect success to change.
Are you working toward a goal because the work matters to you? Or are you hoping that reaching it will finally make you feel worthy, satisfied, or ready to enjoy life?
The second expectation places a heavy burden on an achievement.
Equally, “be happy first” should not become another demand. You do not have to reach an ideal emotional state before you can work toward meaningful goals.
A more workable approach is to care for your well-being and pursue your ambitions together.
How to Pursue Success Without Postponing Happiness
Here are five practical steps to pursue success without postponing happiness.
1. Define success in your own terms
Ask what you actually want from the goal: recognition, meaningful work, the satisfaction of learning, or something else. Then consider whether the path toward it fits the life you want to live.
Reflection: “What would make this achievement worthwhile to me?”
2. Make room for enjoyment now
Avoid treating every enjoyable activity as something you must earn after finishing your work. Choose one activity you value and give it a realistic place in your week.
Reflection: “What am I postponing that I could make time for now?”
3. Acknowledge progress before moving on
When you complete something important, pause before replacing it with another target. Notice what you learned, what effort was required, and what you appreciate about the result.
Reflection: “What deserves recognition in the progress I have already made?”
4. Practice appreciation alongside ambition
Keep your goals, but also notice what is already good in your life. This helps prevent your attention from becoming entirely occupied by the next missing achievement.
Reflection: “What do I value today that I once hoped to have?”
5. Review the cost of your goals
The original post mentions Pyrrhic victories: successes achieved at such a high cost that the victory becomes difficult to enjoy. Use that idea as a prompt to review your priorities.
Reflection: “Am I sacrificing experiences I value for an outcome I may not enjoy?”
FAQs
1. Does success guarantee happiness?
No. Success can bring positive emotions, but it does not guarantee lasting fulfillment. The excitement of achievement can fade as it becomes familiar.
2. Why am I not happy after achieving my goals?
One possible explanation is hedonic adaptation: you have become accustomed to the achievement. It may also help to examine whether the goal delivered what you expected from it.
3. Can happiness lead to success?
The studies discussed in this article suggest that positive affect and well-being can precede favorable career outcomes. They do not show that happiness guarantees success.
4. Can I be happy without being successful?
Your happiness does not have to depend entirely on professional recognition or major achievements. The original article emphasizes present enjoyment, personal interests, and appreciation of what you already have.
5. Should I stop chasing success?
You can keep pursuing meaningful goals. The important change is to avoid making all your happiness conditional on reaching them.
Final Words
Can success bring happiness? It can, but a successful moment and a fulfilling life are not the same thing.
Achievements are worth pursuing and celebrating, but they are less reliable as a promise that you will finally feel satisfied forever.
Give your ambitions a place in your life, and leave room for enjoyment, appreciation, and personal interests along the way.
When you live in a culture that measures life satisfaction by how successful you are, being happy without any milestone to show for it can seem hard.
If your plan has always been “I’ll be happy when I reach the next goal,” take a pause and check if your coveted happiness has remained just beyond your reach.
You can value where you are and still work toward something more. Sonja Lyubomirsky, a pioneering positive psychologist, says: “Happiness may not only be a consequence of success, but also a cause.”
Authors: An earlier, shorter version of this article was written by John Mark, a teacher and motivational speaker. Edited, reviewed, and expanded by Sandip Roy.
√ Also Read: 7 Things You Should Never Tell People About Your Life
√ Please share this with someone.
» You deserve happiness! Choosing therapy could be your best decision.
...
• Disclosure: Buying via our links earns us a small commission.