We recently posted about some insights we gleaned when recently reading Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos. We talked primarily about our takeaways in regards to his perspective on networking. We’d like to share a bit now about his insights on the science of happiness.
When you ask people what they want out of life, if you boil it down, you generally have the same answer: to be happy. Tony learned in his research that happiness is about 4 things:
Perceived control, perceived progress, connectedness and vision/meaning (being a part of something larger than yourself ).
Take a moment to think about your life and where these might apply. Are you trying to exert control at work, with your family, or through calendar?
Do you love a check list to feel progress? Perhaps you have a weight loss goal so you see the numbers ticking away. Or maybe a project that is almost due and you see your progress each day.
Where do you go to feel connected? A religious establishment? A bar? An alumni group? Atlanta Under 40 perhaps? 😉
What do you do to feel that you’re a part of something bigger than yourself? Do you volunteer for a larger organization? Do you feel your company’s mission accomplishes that? Do you travel to broaden your horizons?
We hope that you will feel some sense of connectedness and vision/meaning with Under 40. That’s why we exist. But more importantly, we want to see you thriving in all four of these areas. You being happy is the foundation for what you bring to your other relationships. So, when we see you at the next Under 40 event, we look forward to seeing you working on these 4 areas of happiness (it’s science after all)!