Happiness, rather than working hard, is the key to success,
Here is that self esteem crap again.........there is a minor truth to this but it is minor, not the whole truth.
BTTT
Shhh...don't tell Democrats...
Well, I do take five Effexor daily to at least provide a facade of happiness. Helps me the take on the day and WORK HARD.
PMA (Positive mental Attitude)works to an extent. If you are discouraged, you may not even try to do something, which then cuts off your chance for success. This, like most studies, has an element of truth, but it's not the whole truth. Hard work and others ingredients are also necessary. BTW, I think that it is easier to have a PMA if you believe in a God who personally cares for you and wants the best for you.
Perhaps, they find people with all-in-all easy lives, who say "I've always been a happy person." Then they find some people with rough lives, who say, "I've never really been happy, even when I was a kid." What they fail to consider is that the happy person was raised rich and always had a parachute, while the sad person came from the ghetto or trailer park, and never even made it to the break-even point in life.
Nevertheless, a cultivated awareness of the Good and affinity to it are my own primary "stress management tools," and they seem to have been very beneficial for me lately, so I'll agree that positive thinking is generally good for you.
"A great obstacle to happiness is to expect too much happiness."