Success doesn’t bring happiness, but feeling happy leads to success.
The book I’ll be interpreting for you today is one that was published in the U.S. at the end of December 2023. It’s called Feel-good Productivity, or as we can call it, Happiness Productivity. Its subtitle is How to Do More of What Matters to You.
Let me tell you a story. The main character in this story is a very typical model student. He is extremely disciplined, hardworking, and able to endure hardships. It was these traits that later helped him get into a world-renowned medical school. The competition there was even more intense, and the coursework harder. Whenever he encountered difficulties, his solution was always the same: work harder, endure more hardship.
Later, after he became a doctor, he worked extremely hard every day, but there were always too many patients to see and too much paperwork to do. His initial response was still the same as before—put in more effort, more time. But he realized that this strategy no longer worked. Even though he squeezed his sleep time to the bare minimum, even though he no longer spent time with his family or friends, even though he invested all his energy into his work, he still couldn’t finish everything. And his mood was terrible; he felt like he was suffocating.
So, he started reflecting: Is the strategy I’ve been using for the past decade really the right one? Does success really require suffering like this? Must I trade my health and happiness for achievements?
The dilemma faced by this doctor is something many people encounter. They may have been typical good students since childhood, believing in the motto “Endure hardship to become the best”. But once they start working, they realize that there’s no end to the hardship, or that the “endure hardship” approach doesn’t seem to work anymore.
And the protagonist of the story I just shared is actually the author of today’s book. His name is Ali Abdaal—let’s just call him Ali. Ali is a medical doctor from the University of Cambridge and later worked as a doctor in London. When he first started working as a doctor, he fell into the same dilemma I described earlier, a “productivity crisis.” No matter how hard he worked or how much hardship he endured, his productivity never reached a satisfactory level. So, he spent another year earning a degree in psychology, specifically to study how we can improve our productivity.
With his combined background in medicine and psychology, along with his experiments on himself, Ali developed an effective method and started sharing his findings online. He’s now a popular YouTuber with over 3.4 million followers. His channel mainly shares tips on efficiency, learning, and personal management—all centered around improving personal productivity. He’s even been dubbed a “productivity scientist.” Before the book was even published, it already topped the Amazon bestseller list for new business books, and many people pre-ordered it.
So, after a lot of learning, research, and practice, what did Ali discover? He realized that the set of beliefs he had about success was wrong. Working harder doesn’t bring us happiness. There’s another path to fulfillment, one that doesn’t involve constant anxiety and sleepless nights.
This path focuses first on our own happiness, and then uses that happiness to drive our productivity. This method is what Ali calls Feel-good Productivity, which literally translates to “Feeling Good Productivity,” or as we can also call it, “Happiness Productivity.”
In the book, there’s a key statement that could be considered the theme: Success doesn’t make you feel good, but feeling good makes you successful.
This sentence points to a common psychological misconception that many people have. They often think, “It’s okay to suffer a little now, it’s okay to feel bad. Once I get through this phase, or once I’ve achieved success, I’ll be really happy and fulfilled.” But in reality, this mindset doesn’t have an endpoint. After one hurdle, there’s another; after achieving one goal, you’ll always want to achieve bigger goals. If you live like this, you’ll find yourself constantly sacrificing your well-being and forcing yourself to endure hardship.
Moreover, this isn’t even a state that helps you reach your goals faster—in fact, it can drag you down. Research in both medicine and psychology has shown that a person’s productivity peaks when they feel happy and motivated. Or, as the book puts it, when you are in a “good-feeling state.”
This happens because our positive emotions are closely tied to four hormones: endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin. These four hormones are collectively referred to as “feel-good hormones.” They not only make us feel calm and happy, but they also significantly enhance our productivity. For example, elevated endorphin levels can give us a sense of energy, while dopamine provides a feeling of satisfaction, allowing us to stay focused for longer periods. These two hormones directly boost productivity, while the other two play more of an indirect role. For example, serotonin helps regulate our mood, sleep, and appetite, essentially giving us the energy to focus more on our work. Oxytocin, often called the “love hormone,” is linked to relationship-building and improves our ability to collaborate efficiently with others.
Additionally, the book discusses an interesting study showing how these “feel-good hormones” can “counteract” the hormones caused by negative emotions. We know that negative emotions release stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. If these stress hormones are activated repeatedly and frequently in our bodies, they lead to anxiety, decreased productivity, and health issues like heart disease and hypertension. But researchers found that feel-good hormones can reset our nervous system, bringing us back to a comfortable state and counteracting the negative impact of stress hormones. For instance, researchers told a group of people that they had one minute to prepare for a public speaking engagement, and others would be judging their performance. As a result, their stress levels spiked, along with their heart rate and blood pressure. Afterward, the researchers had them watch movies—some were sad, others were positive, and some were neutral. The results showed that those who watched movies that evoked positive emotions had their heart rate and blood pressure return to normal the quickest.
To summarize, the hormones triggered by good feelings not only directly boost productivity but also help counteract the drag on efficiency caused by negative emotions.
Now, returning to the opening statement: Success doesn’t make you feel good, but feeling good makes you successful. A group of psychologists once conducted an in-depth study of 225 papers on the relationship between happiness and success, involving data from over 270,000 people. The results confirmed this statement. When people reach their ideal goals, the positive emotions they experience don’t significantly increase compared to before. However, people who generally feel good tend to be more efficient at work, have better relationships, earn higher salaries, and receive higher evaluations from others.
Of course, these aren’t very counterintuitive conclusions. We already know that we’re more efficient when we feel better. But I think one of the most valuable aspects of this book is that it reminds us of an important point: We shouldn’t treat “feeling good” as something that happens by chance. We shouldn’t passively wait for moments when we feel good. Instead, we should view “feeling good” as a tool that we can actively use. We need to consciously create this state of good feelings while working.
Now, with this core idea in mind, the author Ali provides many specific methods. After sharing these methods on YouTube, he received many emails from people saying that they found them effective. High school students reported improved grades, business owners said their income doubled, people experiencing burnout found renewed energy, and parents said they could better balance work and family life.
Alright, let’s stop here. Next, we’ll talk about the methods.
The first method is called viewing work as a role-playing game.
Think back to when we were kids—why were we generally happier back then? One major reason is that everything around us seemed new and exciting. Whether it was a tree in our hometown or a supermarket full of products, everything could be our playground. Children’s lives felt like an ongoing adventure. Psychologists have found that this sense of adventure is a key element in sparking happiness.
As we grew older, we became accustomed to everything around us, and that sense of adventure gradually faded from our daily lives. For many adults, this sense of adventure is now transferred to the world of video games. After a long, monotonous workday, many people like to dive into games, embracing new and exciting adventures.
The author, Ali, shared that he went through a period where he became addicted to a certain game, spending an average of three hours a day on it. He would fly around the world with other players, battle monsters, upgrade weapons, and complete quests.
Later, Ali started to wonder why he was so addicted to this game. The sense of adventure was undoubtedly a key factor, but another important reason was that the game allowed him to step into a different role. In real life, he was a bit of a bookish student, but in the game, he played a character that was very different from his real self—a tall, handsome elf wearing a flowing purple robe, commanding an army of demons. By adopting this role, he found that the tasks, even mundane ones like rescuing a cat or solving a math problem, felt more like an adventure. It was much more exciting than what he experienced in the real world.
So, applying this to the work scenario: if you want to feel better and have more fun at work, one important method is to inject a sense of adventure into your tasks. But creating an adventure on purpose isn’t always easy. So a better approach is to choose a game-like character for yourself and approach your work with that role in mind.
For example, you could choose the role of a collector, with the main mission of searching for rare treasures and collecting tiny gems that others overlook. Or, you could choose the role of a conductor, orchestrating and leading people into battle. Maybe you could be an explorer, who loves to wander and discover new places and things. Or perhaps a storyteller, with an active imagination, inspiring others or bringing joy to them with your creativity.
These roles, when applied to real life, should already paint a vivid picture in your mind. The book outlines eight different “game personalities.” Besides the four we mentioned, there are also athlete, creator, competitor, and comedian.
These eight game personalities were proposed by Dr. Stuart Brown, a clinical psychologist whose main field of study is game psychology. He found that adopting game roles in real life can significantly improve a person’s mental state. He also discovered that most people tend to gravitate toward one or two specific types of role-playing, which is usually more than enough.
Dr. Brown’s advice is that if you want to bring more fun and adventure into your work and life, you can start by identifying the role that resonates with you the most. Then, try approaching your work or life tasks as if you were this character.
For example, a creator might face a tedious set of data and think, “Can I present this in a more creative and visually appealing way?” A storyteller, before presenting a long report, might ask, “Can I turn this into a more engaging story to tell?”
Of course, the role you choose isn’t limited to these eight game personalities—you can define a role that fits your work better. I remember Luo Pan once said that content creators are like people dancing with shackles—there are boundaries and frameworks, but also flexibility. This might be his “role.” Personally, when I write, I often imagine myself as a gymnast. This is somewhat similar. Gymnastics has certain standard moves, but athletes are also encouraged to challenge themselves with more difficult routines and express their creativity. So when I write, each section I complete feels like I’ve just finished a difficult move. When an article is approved, the image in my mind is of a gymnast finishing a series of flips in mid-air and landing smoothly. This sense of role really works like magic, adding a touch of sparkle to the mundane daily tasks.
Let’s move on to the next method that helps us enhance productivity in happiness, called becoming your own “cheerleading squad.”
This method focuses on a concept called self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is a term coined by the famous psychologist Albert Bandura, and it refers to the level of confidence we have in our abilities. Bandura’s major contribution was to show that self-efficacy not only increases our happiness, but it also significantly boosts our abilities. Over the past fifty years since Bandura introduced this concept, hundreds of studies have confirmed that the more confident we are in a particular ability, the stronger that ability becomes. In other words, believing that we can do something is the first step toward actually doing it.
Bandura further discovered that self-efficacy is malleable. It’s not something we’re born with—it’s something we can develop. This finding was first proposed over 40 years ago, and it was only after that that people began to pay attention to the power of positive behavioral interventions. For example, encouraging education became popular, where parents are advised to use positive reinforcement to shape their children’s behavior and increase their abilities. The theoretical basis behind this approach is Bandura’s conclusion that what a person hears often becomes what they believe. So, telling someone “You can do it,” or “You’ve got this!” can significantly boost their self-efficacy. These words can come from others, or they can come from yourself. That’s right—you can cheer yourself on when no one else is around. This is what it means to be your own “cheerleading squad.”
But this is just the most basic function of a cheerleading squad. Another key role it plays is helping you “flip your confidence switch.” This means that the next time you’re feeling insecure or reluctant to take risks, your internal cheerleading squad should step in and ask, “What would it look like if you were truly confident about this?” This question serves as a reminder that it’s time to step into the role of a confident person.
Ali shared that during his time at university, he was an amateur magician. His job involved wearing a tuxedo and walking up to a crowd at parties to perform magic tricks. Although he had practiced the tricks extensively, just the thought of walking up to a group of strangers and interrupting their conversations made him feel scared and insecure.
Whenever this happened, he would take a deep breath and mentally “flip his confidence switch,” telling himself: “I’m just playing the role of a confident magician. Even if I’m not confident inside, I can act confident and competent.”
And this approach worked really well: when he pretended to be confident, he actually walked with his head held high. He was able to smile and confidently approach the crowd, performing his tricks with ease.
Later, he witnessed the effectiveness of this “pretend confidence” method not only in his own life, but also in many others’. In just an instant, it could transform a nervous person into someone radiating charisma. This is true magic—it’s the magic that lies within human nature.
But the functions of your cheerleading squad don’t stop there. It should also help you find examples of other people’s success.
Research shows that if someone has a difficult task to complete, their chances of success are significantly higher if they first observe others successfully completing the task before trying it themselves, as opposed to diving in directly without any prior examples.
For instance, researchers had a group of students climb a rock wall. The group was divided into two: one group watched a video of others successfully climbing the wall, while the other group did not. The result was that the group who watched the video had more confidence in their own climbing abilities and performed better.
So, when facing a difficult project, one method to significantly boost self-efficacy is to immerse yourself in “indirect success.” In other words, watch others’ success stories. Whether it’s reading, watching videos, or listening to podcasts, this approach works.
Ali applies this method extensively in his work. For example, when working at a hospital, he would listen to a medical podcast produced by the Royal College of Physicians during his commute, learning from doctors who had successfully solved complex medical challenges. When he first started as a video blogger, he spent a lot of time listening to a podcast called “Independent Hackers,” which featured interviews with people who had built successful online businesses on their own. And when he started writing this book, he found that watching, listening to, or interviewing successful authors gave him a stronger sense of “I can do this” than anything else.
So, the final function of your cheerleading squad is to loudly remind you: “If they can do it, you can too!”
Alright, we’ve talked about adventure, fun, and self-efficacy, and now let’s focus on another key concept: motivation.
When it comes to motivation, we often discuss external and internal motivation. External motivation is the classic “carrot and stick” approach. We do something because we want a reward or because we fear punishment—that’s driven by external forces. External motivation doesn’t just refer to material rewards. For example, if someone says they’re doing something because they want to be liked or respected by others, they’re also driven by external factors.
But in recent years, many studies have shown that external motivation isn’t as effective as we once thought. In fact, internal motivation is often much more powerful. Internal motivation means doing something because we truly love it or because we enjoy the process itself. Some scholars have found that this type of motivation is more lasting and stronger.
However, when it comes to work, we find a problem: most people can’t truly love their work or maintain consistent passion for it. So, what should we do?
This book tells us that, aside from external and internal motivation, there’s another type of motivation that can solve this problem.
Let’s look at a study mentioned in the book. The researchers recruited a group of people to participate in a hiking expedition. At the beginning, these participants were really interested in hiking, meaning their internal motivation was strong. But the hike lasted for five months, and during this time, their internal motivation gradually decreased. This was observed through subjective well-being tests.
What the researchers also found was that some participants managed to maintain a high level of happiness and energy throughout. The key motivation for these individuals was something called “identification motivation.” Identification motivation means doing something because the goal is extremely important to you—it matters a lot, and you really want to achieve it.
This teaches us that even if we don’t really love what we’re doing, we can remind ourselves: I’m doing something that is important to me. This can provide us with a strong sense of motivation.
Furthermore, this insight encourages us that if we want to increase our happiness and motivation in life, we need to identify what truly matters to us, and align our actions with those important things.
So how do we find out what really matters to us?
When we discussed The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, we mentioned the “funeral exercise,” which asks you to imagine a final scene at your funeral—what do you want people to remember about you? Those are likely the things that are most important to you.
We also previously explored a book called Designing Your Life from Stanford University, which introduces the “Odyssey Plan.” The main idea is to create three versions of a five-year plan:
- The first version is about continuing on your current path. What will your life look like in five years if you keep going in this direction?
- The second version is about choosing a different path if the current one doesn’t work out. What will your life look like in five years if you take this new route?
- The third version is about imagining you have unlimited time and wealth. What path would you choose, and what would your life look like in five years?
Through these three five-year plans, you can discover what’s truly important in your life.
The “funeral exercise” and “Odyssey Plan” that we just mentioned are also discussed in this book. We can see that the vision of the Odyssey Plan is already much closer than the funeral exercise. However, five years is still a relatively distant time frame.
So, Ali recommends that after using the funeral exercise and Odyssey Plan to identify what truly matters to us, we should use the next method, called the “12-Month Celebration.” This is Ali’s favorite way to turn dreams into action.
This method is simple: Imagine that 12 months from now, you’re having dinner with your best friend. The theme of the dinner is to celebrate the progress you’ve made in the past year, specifically in the areas that matter most to you.
For example, in health, maybe you’ve lost 10 pounds and eliminated fatty liver; in work, perhaps you’ve found a new job that plays to your strengths; in family relationships, maybe you’ve communicated more frequently and deeply with your family, strengthening your bonds.
Once you list these things, what’s most important to you is no longer in the distant future but embedded in the steps you’ll take in the next few months.
But we’re not done yet, because the concept of “this time next year” is still somewhat distant for the human brain. Can we bring it even closer to today, or even to now?
Ali’s approach is to save the 12-month celebration document on his computer. Every day before he starts working, he opens the document to remind himself of the things he cares most about this year. Then, in each category, he picks one small task he can do that day to move forward.
For instance, in health, it might be working out for an hour from 5:30 to 6:30 PM; in work, it could be sending out 10 resumes in search of new opportunities; in family, it might be calling his grandmother.
This approach ensures that, throughout the year, we constantly remember to move toward what matters most to us.
Additionally, there’s another benefit to doing this, which ties closely to today’s topic: it’s a method that can help you boost productivity while staying happy.
Psychologists have confirmed that focusing on short-term goals gives us more motivation and a stronger sense of happiness than focusing on long-term goals.
For example, in one study, researchers divided a group of children into two groups, each of which had to solve 42 pages of math problems. The first group was given the task of completing 6 pages each day for 7 days; the second group was told they only had to finish all 42 pages within 7 days. In other words, one group focused on short-term goals, while the other had a more long-term goal.
In the end, they found that the children who focused on short-term goals performed significantly better. They correctly solved 80% of the problems, while the other group solved only 40%. More importantly, the children who focused on short-term goals felt more confident throughout the process.
This means that the short-term goal method can improve our lives in both ability and emotions.
So, let’s recap what we’ve discussed around the topic of motivation. First, we talked about the importance of identification motivation—if we want to maintain long-term motivation and happiness, we should first identify the most important things in our lives and then arrange our actions around them.
To discover what’s most important to us, we need a long-term vision. We’ve discussed the funeral exercise and Odyssey Plan. Next, we shift to a mid-term vision with the “12-Month Celebration,” which brings our life or five-year goals down to just one year. After that, we implement the 12-Month Celebration into daily actions, which is the short-term vision.
At the beginning of each day, we can start with this question to kickstart a motivated day: “What three small actions can I take today to get closer to the life I want?”
Alright, that’s the key content from this book that I wanted to share with you.
Finally, I’d like to pass on one of Ali’s pieces of advice: everything we’ve discussed so far is not meant to be a “to-do list.” It’s not about packing everything into your life’s baggage. We should learn to think like a productivity scientist.
What are the characteristics of a scientist’s mindset? They like to experiment and trust the results their experiments show. Ali has shared some methods that have worked for him based on his own experiments, but whether these methods work for us also needs to be validated through our own experiments. Productivity science is an ever-evolving field, and we ourselves are constantly growing. So, Ali’s advice is: try as many things as possible, identify what works, and discard the rest. This way, you can create a personalized productivity toolbox that’s best suited to you.
And with that, this book discussion ends here for today.
