"A colleague recently posted a LinkedIn poll asking people to choose the version of success that felt closest to their experience: happiness, impact, growth, or financial outcome. Nearly two hundred people responded. The poll was casual and likely not representative of the general population. Still, the responses reflected a complex mix of psychological, developmental, and cultural factors. People reveal their internal world through the version of success they choose. They show how they handle pressure."
"In my view, this distribution tells a clear story. These choices are not random. They reflect how individuals experience work, power, identity, and pressure. Who Chooses Happiness? The people most likely to choose happiness often work in environments defined by constant mental strain. Their days likely involve troubleshooting, quick decisions, and nonstop complexity. Research shows that sustained cognitive load heightens physiological stress and narrows emotional bandwidth. Under this level of pressure, the nervous system pushes people toward one priority: stability."
People define success based on stress, life stage, culture, and work demands. A LinkedIn poll presented four versions of success: happiness, impact, growth, and financial outcome, with nearly two hundred responses. Responses reflected psychological, developmental, and cultural factors. Technical professionals tended to prioritize happiness; leaders and founders prioritized impact; early-career professionals prioritized growth; a smaller group prioritized financial outcomes. Choices reveal how individuals handle pressure, the demands of their life stage, and the cultural messages that shaped them. Sustained cognitive load heightens physiological stress, narrows emotional bandwidth, and pushes people toward stability. Success definitions are learned, reinforced, and revised across a lifetime.
Read at Psychology Today
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