Happiness and success are siblings. They occur together and influence each other. And they can be influenced themselves. Mastering the art of making the right decisions opens the door to happiness and success. With a little guidance, anyone can learn this art.
Happiness is a loaded term. Because we put a lot on luck. When things go well for us, we pat it on the back and thank it for helping us. In doing so, we don't even realize how we are belittling our own merits. After all, it was luck! When things go badly for us, we lament the absence of luck. Then we blame it for our failure. Luck has to endure a lot.
The provocative question would be: Can we choose happiness? Can we turn happiness into a faithful life partner that we can trust in all situations? We want to delve deeper into this question.
Luck - the crowning glory of all superpowers
In the 2018 film Deadpool 2, the superheroine is the lucky one. She is calm, at peace with herself, while the other superheroes throw explosions, show off their muscles or flaunt their invulnerability. "And what can you do?" they ask condescendingly. - "I'm lucky," replies the heroine. The others laugh. Luck seems to them to be a precarious position, a product of chance that you sometimes have and sometimes don't have. Not a superpower. Nothing you can choose. However, they soon change their minds. Because the lucky superhero survives the most dangerous situations unharmed. She defeats the most powerful opponents without even trying. Positive turns just fly at her. Is that unfair or is she a real superhero? Is she simply spoiled by fate or does she play her part? Does she belong in the class of decision makers?
Back to our provocative question: Can we choose our happiness? Can we take responsibility for our destiny?
Decision makers answer this question in the affirmative, because they know that the possibility of happiness depends on very simple conditions. Let's take a look at another superhero story for this purpose.
Happiness is a question of choice
A group of American students. Real nerds. And like most nerds, they are overwhelmed by the world beyond the computer. They find it particularly difficult to interact with people in general and with women in particular. Some of them capitulate to the problem and bury themselves even deeper in their computer world. Others jump over their shadows and manage to build bridges to people. And one of them combines his nerd knowledge with human interaction. He is building an app for digital relationship management. This student's name is Marc Zuckerberg. With Facebook, he becomes one of the richest men in the world. Was he just lucky? Or did he make the right decision? Let's take a look at two factors that have made Marc Zuckerberg a master decision-maker.
Luck factor no. 1: Being the right person in the right place at the right time. That sounds like a lot of random luck. It's true: in the days of the typewriter, Marc Zuckerberg would not have become the founder of Facebook. But you can't look at things that narrowly. Zuckerberg had to make a decision beforehand. He did the right thing when he put his talent at the service of a future technology. He would probably have been successful in other ways in the days of the typewriter. Luck factor no. 2: Making the right decision. For many, a decision is just the path of least resistance. Some students stick to their old patterns of behavior and never meet a woman. Others decide to take the high road. It's a brave decision, but not a brilliant one. Zuckerberg alone combines his knowledge and talent with the desire for interaction. He invents a new means of communication. He is the master decision-maker.
Decision makers are good hosts of happiness
For us "mere mortals", people like Zuckerberg or Elon Musk are gifted by fate. They stand casually in front of huge auditoriums, make just as many decisions in a 15-minute speech and, in the same time, effortlessly and very photogenically fill their bank accounts with millions more. They are lucky! - No, they are not! Or, to put it another way: they are. But the core of their luck is their ability to make the right decisions. Anyone can train this skill. "Decision Master" turns you into a decision-making genius.
Happiness, as Erich Kästner says, flees from the seeker. Perhaps it is the wrong approach to rush greedily and full of possessiveness towards this happiness. How about a little courtesy? A little attention? A little preparation? Put simply: buy a lottery ticket before you hope to win. Like Marc Zuckerberg, prepare yourself for the chance of a lifetime. If you are so hospitable to luck, it will have no choice but to choose you. Which host would you choose? A rushed, ill-prepared one? Or one who has already made the coffee and put a warm cake on the table?
This brings us to a key happiness factor for decision makers: appreciation. Think about how often you look at a stranger and immediately make a judgment about them. And how often this judgment is a negative one. This attitude is exclusionary and hermetic. It doesn't give anyone or anything a chance and keeps you trapped within the narrow confines of your world of values. Try opening the window of your heart to the world a little. Look at the people and things around you with appreciation and without intention. Then the world will come to you, with all its news and happy coincidences. Because happiness - and this is a success factor that you can choose - always arises from an unprejudiced encounter with the world.
The treasure is already in your house
This story exists in all languages. A man sets off into the world because he wants to find a great treasure. He crosses the continents and endures terrible hardships. But he does not find the treasure. Finally he returns home. And discovers the treasure on his property. That's the thing about luck. It surrounds us, it leans towards us and we don't notice it. Only when we turn towards it, when we notice and appreciate it, does it fully radiate towards us. Then it is like a sun that warms us and fills us with energy.
Being successful is an attitude. This attitude attracts luck and helps you to make good decisions in life. You can learn the art of setting the right course at the right moment. Become a master decision-maker with us. Subscribe to your success in life.
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