Marcus Buckingham

Men are becoming more like women and so men are starting to face the same multitude of choices that women tackle.

To me, the root cause of dissatisfaction and unhappiness often lies in the areas of focus we choose for ourselves.

In the course of our research for Find Your Strongest Life, we interviewed many women who had created a fulfilling, satisfying life. Here are four of the most distinctive pieces of advice that were shared.

My experience in working with thousands of individuals over the past 30 years leads me to believe there is very little correlation between material world success and happiness or fulfillment.

We interviewed women who had bucked the "happiness decline" and who were living lives in which they looked forward to the day ahead, they frequently got so caught up in what they were doing that they lost track of time.

The research we did for our book focused on how women have been able to make choices that moved them from unhappy to happy. We surveyed and interviewed over 1000 working mothers, and many were happy.

Is it possible for women today to be independent, ambitious, successful career women and at the same time still be taken care of and "protected" by a partner?

To those of you reading this and thinking "I can be happier. I want to be happier in my life," here's the prescription.

In 2007, I traveled around the country with Marcus Buckingham. After reading many of the comments from unhappy women, I can't help but wonder if they would be happier had they attended a girls' school.

The huge societal shift brought about by women's move into the workforce has only begun to play out, and its consequences are truly complex. So when telling this story, we should be careful not to isolate our focus to just women.

If you find it hard to relate to the gradual decline in women's happiness, if you always feel focused and successful, well done to you. Just know that, in aggregate, the next generation of women doesn't feel as you do.

Over the last 40 years or so, life is not trending toward more fulfillment for women; life is, in most ways we can measure, becoming more draining instead.

In a world of relentless competition, you can't afford to let social anxiety hold you back. It's a wasted opportunity. So what to do?