Key to Success? Stop Being So Cheerful

So, it turns out that people who were really happy as children tend to not pay attention while crossing the street and die young, or something else just as miserable.  (I made up that part about cars because I’m cranky and I’m feeding into my bad attitude in the hope of living longer.  If you die young, you never get to be one of those crabby old ladies that do whatever they want because they are old and I so want to do that.)

But seriously, they did find out that happiness isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.  The Longevity Study began tracking a group of kids when they were 10, in 1921. (They didn’t track them continuously–the study picked up again in the early 1990s.)

“We came to a new understanding about happiness and health. One of the findings that really astounds people, including us, is that the Longevity Project participants who were the most cheerful and had the best sense of humor as kids lived shorter lives, on average, than those who were less cheerful and joking. It was the most prudent and persistent individuals who stayed healthiest and lived the longest.”

Part of the explanation lies in health behaviors – the cheerful, happy-go-lucky kids tended to take more risks with their health across the years, Friedman noted. While an optimistic approach can be helpful in a crisis, “we found that as a general life-orientation, too much of a sense that ‘everything will be just fine’ can be dangerous because it can lead one to be careless about things that are important to health and long life. Prudence and persistence, however, led to a lot of important benefits for many years. It turns out that happiness is not a root cause of good health. Instead, happiness and health go together because they have common roots.”

Patience and persistence.  I think the big difference is focusing on long term happiness rather than just immediate pleasure.  If you are thinking about the long term, you look before you cross the street and you eat your green vegetables.  If you’re all about the pleasure, you’ll find reason to pass up that broccoli in favor of brownies.

They also found out that it is the productive among us who live the longest.  Those with good family and friend relationships also tend to thrive.

So, what does this mean for your career?  Don’t worry about seeking out the coolest job possible.  Work steadily.  Keep your relationships up.

And be just a little bit cranky.