What makes you truly happy? Most people strive to be the best or first in their domain. I find that joy fleeting however. The pressure that comes with staying at the top is immense and occasionally detrimental. You get frustrated when you end up being second best and ironically, even when you’re at the pinnacle, you may not be happy as you keep wanting to be better.

To me, a culture of respect and teamwork brings greater joy that’s enduring regardless of outcome. In reality, the ideal state is far from one that breeds cooperation. Humans are selfish by nature: hoarding and using resources to ensure survival even if it comes at the expense of sacrificing others. So it’s not surprising to find many societies rich but unhappy today.

The balance between wealth and happiness is hard to achieve. Often, people trade happiness for wealth because they believe money can eventually be used to buy bliss. In my opinion, that bliss is ephemeral because one quickly grows dissatisfied with the status quo. Happiness is instead best found in a climate of trust and cooperation where everyone works with the interests of all parties at heart and progress as a whole.