Ambition, doing what’s expected of us, and working hard – these all sound like positive traits of productive employees. But when they are each taken to the extreme, they become “happiness traps” - destructive mindsets that keep us feeling stuck, unsatisfied, and less successful at work, writes Annie McKee in this Harvard Business Review article.

“The American Psychological Association found early in 2017 that Americans are reporting more stress than ever owing to politics, the speed of change, and uncertainty in the world,” McKee writes. “But it’s not always outside forces that push us over the happiness line. Sometimes we do it to ourselves.”

If you are among the two-thirds of employees in the United States that report feeling bored, detached, or jaded in your job, one of the three common happiness traps McKee outlines in this article may be to blame. Read this article to learn how to employ critical emotional intelligence competencies that can help you or someone you know break free from happiness traps and cast off an outdated mindset.