preview

The Happiness Advantage By Shawn Achor

Decent Essays

The Happiness Advantage Final The most universal goal every human has in common is the pursuit of happiness or “creation or construction of happiness” (Achor, 78). To be able to fulfill this wish of becoming happy, people often think the key to achieving happiness is success. In the book, The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor, he debunks this theory of success leading to happiness by illustrating the reverse theory of success. Through dozens of studies and experiments as forms of evidence, the author argues that an individual needs to achieve happiness in order to be truly successful. Achor 's argument is valid in that happiness should come before success because there is a clear advantage to being successful in an individuals work life, personal sphere, and liveliness if they are happy first and foremost. Achor utilizes a meta-analysis, or the combination of different findings, of over 200 scientific studies to prove his overall theory that happiness leads to success in almost every aspect of life from family to friends to careers and businesses. He does not rely solely on the data or information from a few relevant case studies, but instead relies upon experimental research to support his claim. He utilizes his findings to create “The Seven Principles”, which are “patterns that predict success and achievement” (Achor, 17), which is headed by “The Happiness Advantage.” He utilizes the concept of positive psychology and neurological activity to showcase the point that we

Get Access