Source: Dogancan Ozturan, Creative Commons
A recent CBS News article caught my eye. The headline read:
Are you happy? Do you know how to be happy?
After decades of studying and working with tens of thousands of patients, researchers at the Mayo Clinic say they’ve cracked the code to being happy.
Psychiatrist John Tamerin says for many people the root of everything we’re chasing, a better job, more money or true love, is happiness.
But this endless pursuit often backfires.
Now, after decades of research and a dozen clinical trials, researchers at the world-renowned Mayo Clinic, say they’ve actually cracked the code to being happy, and published it in a handbook.
Dr. Amit Sood led the research and says the first and foremost way to be happy is to focus our attention.
“… one of the biggest hindrances to being happy is too much thinking about one’s self, research shows.
So why did the Mayo Clinic decide to study happiness? Studies show happier people are healthier people.
Wow, “after decades of research and a dozen clinical trials” the researchers cracked the code to happiness. Even though over 2,300 years ago Aristotle wrote in his “Nicomachean Ethics” that the pursuit of happiness was the ultimate purpose of human existence.
This concept of the pursuit of happiness really forms the foundation for great leadership and great teams. I’m currently working my second book on how to create great teams. It’s built precisely on the concepts of Aristotle’s pursuit of happiness.
If you take a look at the four levels in the pursuit of happiness that Aristotle lays out, you’ll see that levels one and two are focused on self. As the researchers says above, “one of the biggest hindrances to being happy is too much thinking about one’s self.” Levels 3 and 4 are built on thinking about and blessing others. Level 3 describes the perfect model for great leadership. Level 4 describes the elements of great teams.
So, if you want to break your own code to happiness, become a great leader of people and a great team member. It provides the ultimate level of happiness.