I’ve just been reminded of a great TED talk by Shawn Achor: “The happy Secret to better work”. Here’s a snapshot and I’ve pasted the link to the TEDTalk at the end. I hope you enjoy as much as I do 🙂
It always makes me laugh and shares the positive psychology science of how to reverse the formula for happiness and success. “If I work harder, I’ll be more successful and if I’m more successful, then I’ll be happier”
This formula, which many of us will relate to, is scientifically broken and backwards for 2 reasons:
- Every time your brain has a success, you change the goalpost of what success looked like
- If happiness is on the opposite side of success, your brain never gets there
Our brains work in the opposite order.
If we can raise your level of positivity in the present, then your brain experiences what we now call a happiness advantage. Your brain at positive, performs significantly better than at negative, neutral or stressed. Your intelligence rises, your creativity rises, your energy levels rise, every single business outcome improves.
Dopamine floods into your brain when you’re positive and has 2 functions:
- It makes you happier
- It turns on all the learning centres in your brain
There are ways that you can train your brain to be able to become more positive. For just 2 minutes, done for 21 days in a row, you can re-wire our brain, allowing your brain to work more optimistically and more successfully:
- 3 gratitude’s – new things you are grateful for
- Journaling – one positive experience over the last 24 hours
- Exercise – teaches your brain that your behaviour matters
- Meditation – allows your brain to focus on the task at hand
- Random acts of kindness – one positive e-mail praising or thanking someone
Want to find out more? Here’s the link:
