Beyond Success cover image

Beyond Success

Why Success Won’t Make You Happy (And What Will)

Sep 20, 2024
33:33

There is a massive, misery-inducing downside of success:

While achievements are great, they aren’t enough to make life meaningful. But most achievers have been tricked into believing the exact opposite. And the more they achieve their wildest goals, the more empty they feel inside. 

If you keep grinding without reflecting on why you’re so miserable, you may find yourself ready to call it quits with life—even if you have external success that makes others jealous. In fact, I found myself in this exact situation: I achieved every goal I had as a teenager… but ended up on a ledge on the 57th floor on a skyscraper ready to jump. 

Why? 

Because achievements alone don’t make life meaningful and conquering more goals without addressing your emotions will only make you more miserable.

But don’t worry - there’s a way out of this vicious cycle. 

In today’s episode, I reveal how you can break out of this achievement trap, why your personal happiness improves your productivity and creativity, and how to stop seeking success for success’s sake. 

Listen now. 

Show Highlights Include:

  • The weird way groundbreaking achievements lead to “rock bottom misery” if you have this common flaw (1:21) 
  • A Nobel Prize-winning philosopher’s warning about how prioritizing your career torments your soul (3:48) 
  • An unusual way to improve your resilience, creativity, and better handle stress that most achievers never consider (5:27) 
  • How seeing your close friends on a regular basis can add 12 years to your life (8:25) 
  • Why dating a model and actress threw me into the deepest depressive funk I’ve ever been in—and how to avoid making this mistake in your life (19:08) 
  • How to unlock a constant stream of peak “flow state” according to hard, scientific data (26:30) 

For more about David Tian, go here:

https://www.davidtianphd.com/about/ 

Emotional Mastery is David Tian's step-by-step system to transform, regulate, and control your emotions... so that you can master yourself, your interactions with others, and your relationships... and live a life worth living. Learn more here:

https://www.davidtianphd.com/emotionalmastery

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