I Thought Happiness Came From Achievement—Then a Japanese Psychiatrist Made Me Rethink Everything

Hi, this is Hideic.

Not long ago, I read The Power of Output by Japanese psychiatrist Shion Kabasawa.

That book hit me hard.

Its message was simple:

Nothing changes in the real world until you actually do something.

Read.

Learn.

Think.

Fine.

But if nothing leaves your head, your life may remain exactly where it was.

I loved that idea.

And after finishing the book, something else happened.

I became curious about Kabasawa himself.

This guy talks about sleep.

Morning walks.

Mental health.

Learning.

Output.

Habits.

Happiness.

At some point I started wondering:

“How many drawers does this man have?”

Then another one of his books caught my attention.

The Japanese title roughly translates to:

The Three Kinds of Happiness Found by a Psychiatrist.

As far as I know, this book is not widely available in English.

Which is exactly why I wanted to write about it.

Because the central idea is too useful to stay trapped inside one language.

Am I Actually Helping People Become Happier?

The title made me uncomfortable almost immediately.

I write a lot about growth.

Learning.

English.

Books.

Career.

Habits.

Self-improvement.

But then I wondered:

Is this blog actually helping people become happier?

And an even more uncomfortable question followed:

Am I myself living in a way that leads to happiness?

That was enough.

I had to read it.

And when I finished, I had one dominant reaction:

Hideic, why did you not read this earlier?

Because I realized something.

I had been heavily biased toward only one kind of happiness.

Happiness Has an Order

Kabasawa organizes happiness around three broad types:

Serotonin-type happiness
Oxytocin-type happiness
Dopamine-type happiness

Now, these brain chemicals are more complicated than simple “happiness hormones.”

But the framework is useful.

What matters most is not merely having all three.

It is the order.

That was the part that completely changed how I saw things.

I used to imagine happiness like climbing a mountain.

Work hard.

Reach the top.

Plant the flag.

Success.

Done.

Happiness unlocked.

But according to this framework, I had been trying to jump straight to the top floor before building the foundation.

First: The Happiness of Simply Feeling Well

The first layer is serotonin-type happiness.

This is the happiness connected to physical and mental well-being.

Sleeping deeply.

Waking up refreshed.

Walking outside in the morning sun.

Feeling calm.

Breathing easily.

Eating and thinking:

“Ah. This is nice.”

It sounds almost too simple.

That is exactly why ambitious people can ignore it.

I certainly did.

I was often thinking:

Improve more.

Study more.

Achieve more.

Earn more.

Become better.

Meanwhile, the book was basically telling me:

“Excellent. But first, sleep properly.”

Humbling.

And suddenly Kabasawa’s constant emphasis on sleep, exercise, and morning walks made much more sense.

These are not boring side quests.

They are the foundation.

If your body is exhausted and your mind is constantly irritated, putting more achievement on top may not create happiness.

You may just become a very successful tired person.

That sentence hit me.

Second: The Happiness of Being Connected

The next layer is oxytocin-type happiness.

Connection.

Trust.

Love.

Family.

Friends.

Colleagues.

Physical affection.

Feeling that you belong somewhere.

Anime sometimes makes the lonely genius look incredibly cool.

One person.

Standing on a cliff.

Wind blowing.

No one understands him.

Great visual.

Terrible long-term lifestyle.

Real life is different.

We need people.

When my relationships at home feel warm, I have more energy.

When communication at work is good, I work better.

When I feel connected to other people, something inside me seems to say:

“All right. Let’s do this.”

And strangely, I often become more productive when I have less free time but stronger relationships around me.

That made sense after reading this book.

Maybe human connection is not something we squeeze in after finishing all our “important work.”

Maybe it is one of the things that gives us the strength to do important work in the first place.

Then Comes My Favorite Drug: Achievement

Finally, we arrive at dopamine-type happiness.

Achievement.

Growth.

Success.

Money.

Recognition.

Reaching goals.

Hello.

This is my neighborhood.

English goals?

Yes.

Career growth?

Yes.

Reading?

Yes.

Self-improvement?

Absolutely.

This blog?

Very much yes.

There is nothing wrong with achievement.

The problem begins when it becomes the only form of happiness you know how to pursue.

Because dopamine-type rewards tend to create another desire:

More.

One goal reached?

Next one.

One promotion?

Next level.

More money?

A little more.

More followers?

Why not double them?

It can become a treadmill.

And that is where this framework became uncomfortable for me.

If I sacrifice sleep to succeed…

If I neglect relationships to grow…

If I constantly chase the next target while ignoring the fact that I am already exhausted…

then what exactly am I winning?

The Dangerous Trap of “More”

This is what makes dopamine-type happiness powerful and dangerous.

It motivates us.

It helps us grow.

It pushes civilization forward.

But unmanaged, it can also pull us toward addiction.

Alcohol.

Gambling.

Endless stimulation.

Status.

Approval.

Numbers.

More becomes the goal.

And “enough” disappears.

The solution is not to reject ambition.

That would not fit me at all.

The solution is to place ambition on top of stronger foundations.

Health first.

Connection second.

Achievement third.

That order felt almost embarrassingly obvious once I saw it.

Yet I had been living much of my life in reverse.

The Three-Layer Happiness Test

After reading the book, I started thinking about happiness like a three-layer structure.

Layer 1: Am I physically and mentally well?

Am I sleeping?

Moving?

Seeing daylight?

Giving my nervous system any chance to relax?

Layer 2: Am I connected?

Am I treating my family well?

Do I have people I trust?

Am I contributing to others instead of living entirely inside my own goals?

Layer 3: Am I growing?

Am I challenging myself?

Learning?

Building something?

Pursuing a meaningful goal?

The third layer is still important.

But it should not crush the first two.

That might be the biggest insight I took from this book.

It Even Changed How I Think About This Blog

I started asking myself:

What do I want Hideic to give readers?

Only motivation?

Only growth?

Only:

“Work harder.”

“Study more.”

“Become better.”

That would be incomplete.

I want this blog to help people grow.

But I also want it to remind people to sleep.

To go outside.

To protect their relationships.

To laugh with their family.

To notice small good moments.

To pursue ambitious goals without destroying the life those goals were supposed to improve.

That feels much closer to real happiness.

Maybe You Are Not Unhappy Because You Are Failing

This may be the most useful question the book gave me.

If you are working hard but still feel strangely empty…

maybe the answer is not:

“Try harder.”

Maybe the order is wrong.

You may be chasing achievement while your body is exhausted.

You may be collecting success while feeling disconnected.

You may be standing on the top floor of a building whose foundation is cracking.

That does not mean you should abandon your dreams.

It means your dreams need somewhere healthy to stand.

Sleep well.

Move your body.

Notice the morning light.

Love people.

Let people love you.

Then chase something big.

That order feels less dramatic.

But maybe it is far more powerful.

So if you are someone who is constantly improving, achieving, optimizing, and still secretly wondering:

“Why don’t I feel as happy as I thought I would?”

This Japanese book may offer an answer worth thinking about.

Happiness may not be one giant prize waiting at the end of the road.

It may be three things happening together:

A healthy body and mind.
Meaningful connection.
And the joy of growth.

Not one instead of the others.

All three.

In the right order.

I am still learning how to live that way.

But at least now I know what I am trying to build.

And maybe that is a pretty good place to start.

Nin-nin.