It is something we all seek.
Did you know your brain is more creative when you are in a good mood? Shawn Achor’s Ted Talk on the Happiness Advantage has over 19.9 million views…for a very good reason! His entertaining style will show you why the “work hard to be successful and happy” formula is wrong. In Shawn’s decade of research at Harvard, he has shown that when you train your brain to be positive at work first, you actually will be more successful. Isn’t it rewarding to hear that your success is determined by your optimism versus your intelligence?
Watch his Ted Talk by clicking on this link:
https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work?language=en
Too many of us believe we will be happy when we get the next promotion, buy a new house, take a vacation or (you fill in the blank). The problem is the goal posts for happiness keep changing. That is why you need to reverse the order, create the ability to be happy first, and success will follow.
So how can you start pursing happiness? Training your brain to be more positive is just like training your body. Shawn reviews the five ways to turn happiness into an advantage in his 2011 article in the Huffington Post.
He details five practices you can do at once or start with one for 21 days and then add another.
Here are the happiness five practices:
- Write down three things you are grateful for each day.
- Write for two minutes a day describing one positive experience you had over the past 24 hours. This is a strategy to help transform you from a task-based thinker, to a meaning based thinker who scans the world for meaning instead of endless to-dos.
- Exercise for 10 minutes a day. This trains your brain to believe your behavior matters, which causes a cascade of success throughout the rest of the day.
- Meditate for two minutes, focusing on your breath going in and out. This will help you undo the negative effects of multi-tasking. Research shows you get multiple tasks done faster if you do them one at a time.
- Write one, quick email first thing in the morning thanking or praising a member on your team.
These five practices will significantly increases your feeling of social support, which in Shawn’s study at Harvard was the largest predictor of happiness for the students. Why don’t you see if it will also work for you?
Did this blog help you? If so, it would mean a lot to me if you would share it with others!!! And, share your comments below!
Much Success!
Have an outstanding day!!
Sara