A while back I was giving a speech to 1,000 highly successful people - CEOs and industry leaders who, on paper, should be the happiest folks around. I posed a simple question to them:
"Think about all the buckets in your life: health, relationships, work, finances - EVERYTHING. Now, on a scale of 1-10, with the Dalai Lama being a 10 and rock bottom being a 1, what's your happiness number?"
After thirty seconds, I said, "Let's do this: everyone who is a 7 or less, please stand up."
Almost everyone in the room rose to their feet.
"A 7 out of 10 sounds pretty good, right?" I continued. "But if your child came home with a 70 on their math test, that's a C-. If your number was a 6, that's 60 percent - an F in the most important bucket of your life: happiness."
What's fascinating about this test isn't your score - it's what you identify by doing it. When you take this test, your brain automatically starts at 10. It wants you to be happy. Then it immediately subtracts the two or three biggest things making you unhappy.
Try it right now.
The issues contributing to your unhappiness literally appear in your head automatically. It could be anything: being overweight, financial stress, an unhealthy relationship, or a job you hate. Those first two or three things that pop into your head -- those are the obstacles blocking you from greater happiness. Remove one obstacle, and your happiness grades out at a B. Remove two, and you go to the top of the class.
