Leverage and Happiness
“Sometimes I find it hard to make myself feel happy. I am often aware that in the moment I could be making myself feel happier, but I choose not to.” Does this lament sound familiar? How does someone go from merely acknowledging the truth that happiness is a choice to actually choosing to be happy right now? The answer is motivation. And how does one become motivated? Leverage.
Anthony Robbins tells a story that demonstrates the power of leverage. Imagine that you are feeling down and depressed. You are moping around, your eyes are looking at the floor and you are thinking negative thoughts. Imagine further that I suddenly walk up behind you, point a large gun at your head and aggressively threaten to kill you if you do not immediately act as if you are ecstatically happy. I also demand that you quickly rattle-off 30 reasons why your life is wonderful. Why is it easier to act happy with a gun to your head? The answer is leverage. Leverage is a technique where you imagine how wonderful it would be to achieve your goal and how horrible it would be if you failed to achieve your goal. Carrot and stick thinking creates leverage; and sufficient leverage can motivate anyone to do nearly anything.
There are many ways to create leverage. Imagine that you are a movie actor and get paid millions to act happy everyday. Imagine that the purpose of your life is to be happy (because it really is the purpose of your life), and imagine how great it would be to be happy all the time, and how terrible it would be to live your life unhappily.
