Main Idea & Message
This article argues that happiness does not come after success, but instead leads to it.
What is Happiness Comes Before Success?
Amanda Baker compares academic struggle to athletes who improve by doing this repeatedly.
What is practicing or failing multiple times?
Amanda Baker wrote her article mainly to encourage students to value this over easy success.
What is hard work (or effort)?
Amanda Baker describes videos of people achieving personal goals, like learning this musical instrument.
What is the violin?
Baker suggests that effort should be seen as a source of this, not shame.
What is pride?
Amanda Baker’s main message is that effort still matters, even if you do not achieve this outcome.
What is winning (or success)?
The happiness article suggests that people with positive emotions tend to do this better at work.
What is perform well (or succeed at tasks)?
The authors of the happiness article aim to prove that this leads to success, using research studies.
What is happiness (or positive emotions)?
The happiness article mentions this percentage increase in sales by happier workers.
What is 37 percent?
The happiness article suggests that positive emotions lead people to set more of these.
What are ambitious goals?
Both texts challenge the idea that achievement must always be tied to this final result.
What is winning or being the best?
Amanda Baker explains that students often misunderstand their hard work as proof of this, instead of recognizing it as dedication and persistence.
D A I L Y
D O U B L E
What is lack of ability?
Baker criticizes the idea that anything short of winning is this.
What is a failure (or waste)?
Baker references this fictional boxer training intensely to show the value of effort.
Who is Rocky?
Baker argues that focusing only on winning can cause students to avoid taking this kind of risk.
What is trying (or challenging themselves)?
The authors suggest that growth, effort, and happiness are valuable even without reaching this traditional endpoint.
What is success?
The happiness article claims that positive emotions help people persist longer at these.
What are challenging tasks?
The happiness article uses studies and data mainly to strengthen this part of the argument.
What is evidence (or credibility)?
The happiness article uses this type of study that follows people over time to show cause and effect
What are longitudinal studies?
Both texts suggest that comparing yourself to others can negatively impact this internal factor.
What is motivation (or confidence)?
Across both texts, the shared message is that personal growth and mindset are more important than this type of outcome-based thinking.
What is focusing only on results (or outcomes)?
Both authors argue that effort should be valued not because it guarantees success, but because it builds this over time.
What is growth (or improvement)?
Both texts challenge the belief that success is only valuable when it leads to winning by promoting this type of mindset focused on growth and effort.
D A I L Y
D O U B L E
What is a growth mindset?
Baker uses the example of students comparing themselves to others to show how effort is often misunderstood as this.
What is weakness (or lack of intelligence)?
The deeper lesson of both texts is that success should be defined by personal effort and growth rather than this external measure.
What is comparison to others (or being better than others)?