Newsletter
Success and Satisfaction2022-10-02
“Happiness is like a butterfly, the more you chase it, the more it will elude, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.”
—Henry David Thoreau
Life success or life satisfaction, which one is more important? It is a false dichotomy.
One way to view life success and life satisfaction is using a 2 x 2 matrix. High life success and, as a consequence, high life satisfaction, is the optimal quadrant, and denotes mastery of life. It has to be genuine life success, having to do with health, family, wealth, and influence, in that order. High life success with low life satisfaction is a Calvinistic approach, and may denote or lead over time to mental health issues. Low life success with high life satisfaction is a hedonistic approach, and may denote or lead over time to addictions. Finally, low life success and low life satisfaction is a dangerous quadrant, that should be avoided and exited, if arrived at, with help from family, friends, mentors, coaches, therapists, clinicians, and societal-level policy measures.
Our Life x Mind app permits individuals to track life success and life satisfaction in a quantitative way. We are working on building in it pop-up alerts about imbalances between life success and life satisfaction. We think that individuals will find these features useful for navigating and optimizing their lives, and those who care about them will know when to help.
Live. Happier. Longer.