The Happiness Formula
When this came across my feeds, it struck me as a moment to ponder. A story from an Inc.com article by Ben Sherry. The story goes that while speaking at the University of Colorado at Boulder’s 2024 commencement ceremony, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak emphasized the importance of approaching problems with a constructive mindset. In true Woz fashion, he did it in the form of a math equation.
“There’s a formula for creating happiness,” Wozniak said. “And it couldn’t be simpler. H = S – F, which means Happiness equals Smiles minus Frowns.” Woz acknowledged that in life and business, you can’t prevent things from going wrong, but his formula suggests that you do get to decide how to react.
So, is life a series of equations?
Like happiness, most things that make up our physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual realities result from s some simple math equation. Addition and subtraction. Yes, simple in design, although not necessarily easy to calculate, because some of us may feel like the moment, day, week, month, year, and so on, is more like multiplication and long-form division. Maybe even fractions and percentages. The thing is, I like the simplicity of adding and subtracting. Simple math – things that bring me joy and fulfillment get added and the things that leave me put off and unsettled get subtracted. I look at my behavior and outcome, then I adjust accordingly. It makes sense.
Diving a little deeper into this topic, I came across a book by Neil Pasricha, The Happiness Equation. Rather than giving you a synopsis or key elements from the book, I share only this.
“According to recent research, only 10% of our happiness is based on our external world.
The other 90% is based on how we see the world.”
When I read this, what stands out is that the formula is less important than the interpretation and, specifically, how we apply meaning to the data. The discernment, extrapolation, and estimation process – that’s what makes it complex, complicated, and subjectively tricky.
Math is Objective.
Or is it? Here’s something to consider. Think about relationships. Being the research geek that I am, I was curious about relationship data. I saw this unbelievable amount of data on divorce, with every possible way to look at percentages and rates: age, occupation, states, and so on. Now, for the sake of our conversation, let’s simplify and say it’s 50/50.
Here’s my question: which 50% gets your attention? Where does your head go first? To the 50% who get divorced or the 50% who stay married?
One might say, “It’s going to be tough for people in relationships when they see this. They have a high probability of breaking up.” Another reaction, “OK, but what about the ones who are great with one another – what if they’re the 50% that stay together?”
This is the whole ‘glass half full, half empty’ metaphor.
Retail is definitely math.
When I first cut my teeth in retail, I remember my very first boss telling me the importance of conversion rate, saying it was THE most important metric in retail. To look at the number of total opportunities in a given time period, and measure that against the total number of transactions; thus, providing an indicator of selling effectiveness, or closing ratio. Let’s say it’s 20%.
Obviously, whether it is good or bad, is pretty much relative to what it’s been (trend) and the desired outcome (target).
I want to know trends and targets, for sure. If I want to get really good, I’m going deeper. I can look at 20%, celebrate the outcome, and explore why they bought. OR I can look at 80%, embrace the opportunity, and try to figure out why they didn’t. Which side typically gets our focus? Maybe both.
To be fair, there are other factors we could chat about. Very rarely are things like this cut and dry. My point is this: when we consider anything, what gets our attention and focus? Why? What are our motives? Who benefits the most from our analysis, and how will we approach them with the data? Half full or half empty?
A + Variables = Customized Approach
This math equation is the one I live and lead by. When I started out as a leader, I wanted an equation to fit everything, one that I could easily apply to all that I did. I quickly found that the reality is there is no “easy way” and definitely no one-size-fits-all equation. A + B = C doesn’t exist.
I changed my approach. A + Variables = Customized Approach. “A” represents the thing I must do. This doesn’t change. It’s the task, goal, target, expectation, and standard. “Variables” are exactly what the word implies. It’s all the stuff that can and does happen that we don’t expect or can’t control, such as the circumstances, people involved, and uncertain factors. “Customized Approach” is my response to both task and circumstance. It’s about choice. I get to choose my actions, reactions, plans, and responses.
In essence, my day-to-day reality may very well be a series of mathematical equations wherein success or failure is the sum of all choices I’ve made. In other words, I calculate all the stuff in my day, factoring in probability, estimation, and uncertainty, and then come up with a sum. My choice represents that equation.
Bottom line: how do you see the world? How do you calculate its meaning? How do you see the day you are given and moments where you get to choose a response? Is your response a smile or frown? Are you contemplating a little math – adding something in or subtracting something out or away? Today, you get to respond. What will make up your equation? Half full, half empty, or realizing neither matters if the glass is refillable.
#RussellCellular #LeadershipMatters #CareerHere #Perspective
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