Happiness creates success . . .
. . . but success doesn't necessarily create happiness.A meta-analysis of 225 psychological studies suggests that "chronically happy people are in general more successful across many life domains than less happy people," in part because they seek out and engage new goals.
Importantly, the study examined the relationship between happiness and "culturally-valued success"--by which I presume the researchers mean North American, consumerist definitions of "making it."
Much previous research assumed that happiness followed from, rather than contributed to, successful personal and professional accomplishments.
I'm curious about how this study might correlate with pastoral theological understandings of hope, which tend to emphasize agency far more than positive affect. I am not aware of any research correlating Christian hope (or "spiritual hopefulness") with "success" of any type.
.: Posted by Duane Bidwell on Monday, December 19, 2005
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