The Happiness Advantage
Does success cause happiness or is it the other way around? Sort of like which came first the chicken or the egg? I have to admit, I have spent most of my life thinking that success did cause happiness, but after reading the Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor, I’m not so sure.
Cutting edge science has shown that actually happiness is the precursor for success. ‘Happiness and optimism fuel performance and achievement giving us the competitive edge.’ Study after study has shown that when listening or doing something positive before a stressful task, increases the chance of you not only completing the task but doing better and feeling better about it. AND the results are residual in the months after doing the positive work; success will linger in your performance.
Cultivating happiness actually expands our brain and makes us more creative, productive, motivated, resilient thus increasing our performance and our chances for success. Not to mention that happy people tend to take less sick days at work.
So how do we cultivate happiness in a sea of despair in everyday living? Good news, it is something we all can do and you can start right now.
There are many ways to improve your mood and should be done on a daily basis. Like your physical muscles, doing these activities every day will strengthen your resolve towards a positive attitude thus creating a more productive and successful outlook for you.
There are immediate mood boosters when needed at a moment’s notice, like listening to a short humorous video clip, a short positive talk with a friend, listening to a particular song, petting your dog and even cleaning your house can boost your mood.
But here I want to highlight a few activities if done on a daily basis, will increase your baseline of happiness and armor you for the day to be able to deal with negative influences that constantly assault us.
1. Meditate: Meditation calms the mind and body and has been shown to rewire the brain to raise levels of happiness and lower stress
2. Anticipation: of a positive event, such as going on vacation or going out with that special someone, raises our endorphin levels which will boost our mood.
3. Commit to Conscious Acts of Kindness: Make a practice of doing 5 random acts of kindness a day and see how you feel at the end of the day. These need to be intentional acts of kindness but no need to be big acts. Holding a door open for someone, complementing someone are all acts of kindness.
4. Environment: Infuse your environment with positive reminders like a picture of your family on your work desk and getting fresh air everyday will help to lift your spirits. Stop watching TV. TV has such a negative impact on our lives and for that matter stop reading the newspaper.
5. Exercise: exercise boosts our endorphins, reduces stress and anxiety.
6. Spend Money on Worthy Things: It has been shown that people feel happier when they spend money on things like dinner with friends or vacations as opposed to material things like new shoes.
7. Exercise Your Signature Strength: Examine your strongest personality traits and skills. Do you make people laugh, do you give good advice, are you a good listener, are you a good cook? When you need a positive boost, revisiting one of your strengths will make you feel better. Studies have shown that actively spending time on one of your signature strengths in your daily life will make you happier person.
Integrating these tips into your daily life will not only make you feel better but you will start to see yourself becoming more efficient, motivated and productive and increase your competitve edge. This will enhance the chances of success for you in your business and in your life.
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The post 7 Tips to Improve Your Mood, Elevate Happiness and Give You The Competitive Edge appeared first on Lisa R. Fraser.