When you aim for happiness, you are more likely to succeed.

In his book Happier, Tal Ben Shahar, suggests this exercise to demonstrate this truth. Think of something that you want and ask yourself why you want it. Keep asking why with each answer until you get to the root of your desire. For most of us, we want love, money, health, and freedom because it makes us happy. The psychologist Abraham Maslow, who proposed the hierarchy of human needs, put self fulfillment at the top. Self fulfillment is just a form of happiness.

What is happiness anyway? There are lots of definitions and ways to measure it, but perhaps the short definition is that happiness is a positive emotion that makes us feel good and moves us towards good things. Often just thinking about happiness can bring on a happier state of mind. Prove this for yourself with this list of Happy Words.

Happy people tend to do better in all the traditional measures of success. They are more likely to have rich and satisfying careers, marriages, and relationships with other people. They volunteer more and do more good for others. They are generally healthier and live longer. So stop focus on the means to the ultimate goal, relax and focus on the goal itself because …

When you aim for happiness, you are more likely to succeed.