Question for you: What do your students really want from your course? My guess is that they don’t want to learn how to create a successful Shopify store just to kill some time on a Saturday afternoon. So why do they sign up for your class? Is it to learn how to make more money? Is it to lose weight?
Maybe. In fact, that might even be the reason(s) they think they want to take your course. But I’m going to propose that it’s actually a little more simple than that. Want your student really wants is to be happier. And for whatever reason, they believe that your course will in some way, shape, or form make their lives happier.
So my question to you is, will it? Does more money make you happier? If that was the case, the richest person in the world would automatically be the happiest person in the world. Likewise, if the losing weight in and of itself was the key to happiness, then the thinnest people would automatically have a corner on the market in the happiness department. I think we can all agree that happiness is much more complex than simply having oodles of cash or whittling down your waistline.
Positive psychology is a comparatively new branch of psychology primarily concerned with looking at what makes people happy. It turns out science is beginning to show us specifically what makes people happy. According to The Pursuit of Happiness, there are seven ways of thinking and acting in particular that make us happy:
- Relationships
- Acts of Kindness
- Exercise and Wellbeing
- Flow
- Spiritual Engagement and Meaning
- Strengths and Virtues
- Positive Mindset: Optimism, Mindfulness, and Gratitude
Note: I highly recommend spending some time reading the source above!
Notice that neither making more money nor losing weight is on there. Is your course subject on there? For some of you, the answer might be yes. But for many of you, your answer might be no.
If your answer is no, my next question is how can you tie your course back to one of those seven factors of happiness? Does your course help students create more time to devote to things like relationships? Is it an activity that might put them in a state of flow?
Here’s my challenge to you- think about how your course can make someone more happy. Truly, more happy. Then, educate your clients and students on what will truly make them happy and how your course can help them achieve lasting happiness.