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I recently read a news story about a study that concluded that luck is often more important than talent for success. This research has won the satirical Ig Nobel Prize for serious research that makes people laugh and then think.
When I look at my life, I realize that I have been very lucky, am happy, and experience success regularly. The question then is how you can experience more happiness and get lucky. That should contribute to more success!
In this Blog, you will discover a new and clear way for more happiness (luck and success). It is an addition to my Blog with the three ingredients for happiness.
In the past, I have written another Blog with 100 ways to experience more joy and happiness. They are fun and bring more happiness, but they are a collection of techniques. They provide moments of happiness but are not necessarily sustainable.
For a more structured approach to happiness in life, I heard a TED talk from Dominic Price. He is a futurologist and discovered (during a quarantine) the four ingredients of happiness. The four ingredients or P’s are: Productivity, People, Planet, and Purpose. Dominic believes that these 4 P’s contribute to your happiness.
Productivity
The first P stands for Productivity and “Profit.” This P is about work and what that yields in terms of money. It may also be income from investments, passive income, or benefits. What matters is to what extent you have enough money to make ends meet now and in the future.
People
Taking a good look at your physical and mental health is important. You can’t help others if you don’t take care of yourself. It also concerns the relationships you want to have with your family, friends, colleagues, or customers and to what extent you have a positive impact.
Planet
This is about how you treat the Planet and its valuable resources. What is your carbon footprint? To what extent do you use renewable energy sources? Do you recycle? Do you borrow things instead of buying something new all the time?
Purpose
Finally, there is Purpose. According to Dominic, this is about the impact and what you want to leave behind in this world (your legacy). It’s about your WHY. Your contribution and its effect on the world. You can read more about your purpose, mission, vision, and WHY in this article.
How happy are you?
To answer the question above, it is important to give a score to each P. Dominic calls this assessment your Personal Moral Inventory™.
The score can be 1. That’s good, and then you’re happy with your life and the P.
The score can also be 0. Then you are more or less satisfied with your life in the relevant category.
If the score is -1, you are dissatisfied with your Productivity, People, Planet, or Purpose.
You can enter your score for the four categories in the table below. The rules are that you may not score more than one or less than a -1, and you can’t put down half a point.
When I look at my life now, I score a one for Productivity. I have a lot of work and do a lot to keep it that way.
People is a 0. Right now, I’m not feeling well physically, and I want to be more connected to the people around me.
For Planet, I score a one. I drive an electric car, and in November, I’m going to Scotland by train instead of by plane to watch my favorite rugby team play. I don’t eat meat, and we have solar panels on the roof.
For Purpose, I also score a one. I know why I do something and experience a lot of fulfillment in what I do for my family, work, community, and the church where I am active.
So I score a one on everything except people. I am almost completely happy!
Can I work harder to compensate?
No. You cannot compensate. You cannot get your happiness from a single category. I want to score a 2 for Purpose and Planet. They could then nicely compensate the 0 for People and make me very happy. That is not possible. It’s either good, mediocre, or bad.
It also makes no sense to work even harder to, for example, increase my Productivity and therefore be happier. That could be even at the expense of the score on People. Just think of burnout. It also makes no sense to be healthier at the expense of the Planet.
There is a Māori Whakataukī (proverb) about the four sides of a house that resembles Dominic’s four Ps of happiness. The sides are the spiritual, the physical, the mental, and the family. The house will collapse if one of these four sides is not solid. It, therefore, makes no sense to strengthen one of the already strong sides because the house still collapses due to the weak side.
Take action for more happiness and success!
It’s about tackling those categories where you score low (0 or -1). Make a plan, set goals, and come up with actions.
It is best to do something today to help you improve your score in one of the four categories. I’m going to bed in a moment and have a telephone appointment with someone new in my network. Thus, I will be working on the People category.
One recommendation of the research into the relationship between luck and success is that you should work and look for opportunities. The 4 Ps can support you in this. Do this assessment once a quarter. I am convinced that it will bring you more happiness and success.
What is your Purpose or WHY?
I can support you in discovering your Purpose or WHY. Your WHY is unique, positive, and action-oriented. Your WHY is your contribution, and its effect on the world can help you fulfill the other 3 Ps. Do you want to know what a WHY session looks like? Please read this article or contact us today for a free introduction.
How do you experience more happiness? How do you score with the 4 Ps for happiness? Let me know in the comment field below. The other readers of this article. and I are looking forward to reading from you!
Thank you for reading up to here & sharing this article with your colleagues, friends, or family. And please SHARE this article with your Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn network by pressing the buttons below so that they can also benefit from this article on the four Ps of happiness. You are welcome to copy parts of this Blog if you state the sources.
Have you seen an error in this article? Let me know! I am grateful!
Sources:
-What’s your happiness score?
-The Personal Moral Inventory™
-Improbable Research
-TALENT VERSUS LUCK: THE ROLE OF RANDOMNESS IN SUCCESS AND FAILURE
