Being respected improves your happiness

Being respected proves more likely to make you happy than being wealthy.

A new study in the Psychological Science journal has shown that being respected and admired has more chance of making you happy than having a higher education and great wealth, according to The Huffington Post.

“We got interested in this idea because there is abundant evidence that higher socioeconomic status – higher income or wealth, higher education – does not boost subjective well-being (or happiness) much at all. Yet at the same time, many theories suggest that higher status should boost happiness,” said one of the authors of the report, Cameron Anderson.

“We can have lots of money, lots of status, lots of a whole host of other things, but we are not happy when we are not happy with who we are – the core of our being. Being respected also means that others value who we are,” says life coach Penny Holburn. “We have a sense, and feedback from others, that we are capable of a good life.”

Holburn states that gaining respect from others starts with respecting yourself. Respect yourself by being on time for meetings, completing your work, do your best at your work, look after your health and respect other people. Respect yourself, and others will treat you with respect.

Your happiness may be influenced by the people that you spend time with. It also depends on how much you allow them to influence you.

“Some are easily influenced and they take on the opinions, values and emotions of the other people around them very quickly. That is fine if everyone around you is very happy but it usually is not so great in the long run – you may want to do some work on who you are and not let yourself be influenced so much by others,” says Holburn.

Happiness comes from within a person. Material objects and wealth may result in happiness, but this happiness will run dry and not last for the long-term.

Holburn says that the people she has met who consider themselves happy have a sense of peace about themselves. The people who have lots of money, have that money to counter their fears. Fears and happiness don't really go together.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com