Don't worry, be (little) happy to get handsome income

Washington, Jan 29 (UNI) Who says happiness is the key to success ? If a new study is to be believed, even not so happy people can make big in life.

Researchers from the US conducted a series of study and found that people who are moderately happy may achieve more in terms of income, career and education than those who are extremely happy, the Science Daily reported.

''Our findings suggest that extremely high levels of happiness might not be a desirable goal and that there is more to psychological well-being than high levels of happiness,'' said lead researcher Dr Ed Diener from the University of Illinois.

This happens because extremely happy people may be more satisfied with their lot in life and less likely to make efforts to change it by getting more education or finding a new job, he said.

Their findings challenge the common assumption that all measures of well-being go up as happiness increases. While many indicators of success and well-being do correspond to higher levels of happiness, the researchers report, those at the uppermost end of the happiness scale are in some measures worse off than their slightly less elated counterparts.

''The highest levels of income, education and political participation were reported not by the most satisfied individuals (10 on the 10-point scale), but by moderately satisfied individuals (8 or 9 on the 10-point scale), '' the researchers said.

They found that those who scored highest at the happiness scale earned significantly less money than those who rated as moderately happy. Their educational achievements and political engagement were also significantly lower than their moderately happy and happy-but-not-blissful counterparts.

However, the extemely happy people were the most successful, engaging more often in volunteer activities and maintaining more stable relationships.

One of the studies involving college students revealed that the happy group outperformed even the extemely happy in grade-point average, attendance and meticulousness.

The data indicate that happiness may need to be moderated for success in some areas of life, such as income, meticulousness and career, Dr Diener said.

''The people in our study who are the most successful in terms of things like income are mildly happy most of the time,'' he said.

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