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The link between happiness, success

3 min read

Financial success may not bring you happiness, but happy teens grow up to be financially successful young adults, according to research published by De Neve and Oswald in the December issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This longitudinal research involved more than 10,000 subjects whose happiness was assessed at ages 16, 18 and 22 years of age. Their income was then measured when these adults were 29 years old. Kids with higher levels of happiness as teenagers went on to earn more when they were 29 years old.

The results were dramatic in that a “profoundly unhappy” adolescent will earn about 30 percent less than average at age 29, whereas a “very happy” adolescent will earn about 10 percent more than average.

The authors reported four factors statistically explain their results. Happy teens were more likely to obtain a college degree, get hired and promoted, be more optimistic and outgoing, and score lower on measures of neuroticism.

Please be careful about interpreting this research. This doesn’t mean that parents should now do whatever it takes to raise happy kids. Many parents already err in that direction. Instead, focus on two key factors that truly explain the connection between happiness as teens and financial success as adults.

Obtain specialized training after high school.

For children who have the ability and inclination, continue to emphasize the importance of college or acquiring skills beyond high school. This training will have a significant impact on their overall life satisfaction and their subsequent earnings. Stress the importance of homework done by kids, not adults. Encourage academic excellence, and please stop asking your child if she had fun in school. Set the correct expectations that school is work, not entertainment.

Develop a sense of resiliency.

Things don’t always work out as we would like. The Bubble Wrap parenting style makes a mistake in trying to protect kids from dealing with failures, disappointments and even injustices. These are important feelings for your kids to learn how to experience and manage.

When problems arise, guide your youngsters in how to understand others’ perspective, think through alternatives, take mindful actions and reflect upon what they learned from their experiences. Don’t solve your child’s problems. Teach them the skills to become empowered agents of change, recognizing that we don’t always get what we want.

An empowered sense of optimism is closely related to gratitude. Help your children appreciate what they have rather than lament what they don’t. Most kids growing up in America today are the most privileged and fortunate kids in the history of childhood, but you certainly wouldn’t get that impression from the whiny sense of entitlement exhibited by many self-indulged youngsters.

Dr. Gregory Ramey is a child psychologist at Dayton Children’s Medical Center.

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