Does success create happiness? In these uncertain times, advisors—and our clients—may be questioning ourselves more than ever. And it turns out, we just might have it backwards. According to Shawn Achor, positive psychology advocate and author of The Happiness Advantage, it’s actually our positive emotions, mental health, and resilience that drive our success.

You’ve heard the phrase, “the power of positive thinking,” probably more times that you can count. Obviously, you can’t just sit back and think about growing your business without putting in any effort and expect to become successful. But research has shown that positive emotions can help improve your work, your health, and your life, and they play a bigger role in helping you and your clients achieve success than you might think.

Even leaders who don’t intrinsically value diversity and inclusion have learned that they improve corporate resiliency and help the bottom line. In fact, McKinsey, Deloitte, and BCG have all published quantitative research on the benefits of diversity. The results suggest that having employees and clients with different perspectives helps companies endure and even thrive in changing times. So, why is diversity and inclusion in the workplace still an issue—and how do we go about building a true meritocracy?

Do you have clients who are overspending in retirement? Chances are, you do. Perhaps they can’t say no to helping their kids, or they understandably want to enjoy their money before their health fails. Or they might be motivated by any other of the common reasons for “bad” financial habits. Whatever the cause, there are a number of straightforward techniques you can use to help encourage positive change when talking to clients about sticking to their retirement plan. 

While we often focus on “risk tolerance,” when the markets head up or down precipitously, managing your clients’ risk perception is actually the key. Of course, to do so, we must first understand the difference between risk tolerance and risk perception. In a nutshell, the reason why people’s risk tolerance can change drastically during times of market volatility has to do with this notion called risk perception. Research from the CFA Institute shows that risk tolerance is a fairly stable “personality trait”—which stays the same unless someone has a life-changing experience. Risk perception, on the other hand, is an emotional, temporary judgment of the severity of a risk during a certain time frame.