The One Secret to Long Term Happiness

What makes you happy ? Holiday on the beach, money in the bank, kissing your sweetheart, hugging your mother, realising that you look thinner are some of the things most people say spontaneously in response to this question. 

At a deeper level scientists and psychologists have discovered that truly happy people usually have a meaningful purpose in life, a large circle of loving friends and family, are in love and are able to be persistent and optimistic in tough situations.

My attempt here is to share with you one deep secret about "how" you can have these too in your life. This is a secret that i have learnt personally and seen many other truly happy people practice.

We will see how this one secret can work in the 3 things that matter to all of us - relationships, personal success & purpose and wealth or material comforts.

Like all great ideas, this one is profoundly simple. The Secret to Permanent Happiness is " Permanently happy people choose to always invest in every aspect of their lives".

Notice that i don't say sacrifice or give but invest. So what does "to invest" mean - it means to give without waiting for the returns to come. It does not mean that returns will not come or that one should not bother about them but just that one will give without waiting for the returns to come immediately. For instance when Warren Buffet or any other great investor buys into a company, they know they need to do the deep research, then invest and hope over a long period of time that the investment will pay off. They don’t expect returns first or even in parallel.

The investment mindset is about combining “an attitude of giving” + “having a long term view”.

Let me show you how you can put this secret to practise in every aspect of your life.

Money - If you invest in the stock market, how many times have you sold a good stock too early ? How many times did u sell land or a house at a profit only to see it's value go up many times. To become happy through money, you need to continously invest it without waiting for returns to come. Which means in the stock market, you need to keep buying good companies, especially when prices are down due to a crisis without waiting for them to reward to back. The longer you can choose to invest the more money will come to you. The same is true for property or any other standard asset you choose to invest in. When you are making profits, if once again again you choose to invest rather than milk you will get richer and happier. If you buy property the general rule is “buy land, they don’t make it anymore”. Over time the value of land will increase.

If you run a business - large or small, the secret works when you invest in giving prospective clients products to use when not asked for, making customised packages for each client before you approach them, give them a few freebies when not asked for - all before expecting the order. The more time, energy and attention you "invest", the happier your business will become.

Love & Dating - when you find the someone special you always put your best foot forward – look good, give gifts, organize surprises. You invest your time, energy and emotions into the future. The most successful long term marriages do the same – couples invest continuously in meeting each other’s needs, spending time, understanding what the other partner wants and going out of their way to make it happen.

Jobs & Personal Success – the most successful people both in companies and in start ups do more than is asked, take on additional responsibility that helps the organisation and their bosses and invest more of their time, energy and commitment than is expected. This leads to fast tracking of their careers, rapid promotions and growth.

In all cases whats common is the desire and willingness to invest and give up ahead and delay the expectation of returns. The mindset of investment.

So ask yourself in relationships and at work

-       What can I do more

-       What does my partner / boss / organisation seek from me

-       Who can I help and how

Go do it. don’t keep score. The returns will come. They are inevitable.

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