The Happiness Advantage
The Happiness Advantage
The Happiness Advantage
I’ve been reading a fantastic book, The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor. It provides great insight into what makes us happy and how to be happier. For the next few weeks, I’ll share with you some of Achor’s strategies, but I’ll start off by setting the foundation.
Apparently, we have it all backwards. We have become accustomed to thinking that if we work hard, we will become successful, and if we become successful, we will be happy. Unfortunately, this thought process is flawed and completely backwards.
More than a decade of research has proven that happiness actually fuels performance and causes us to be more productive, efficient, resilient, and creative. Happiness also leads to success in nearly every area of our life, including work, health, friendship, sociability, creativity, and energy. In short, when we are happy, we are smarter, more motivated, and more successful.
Unfortunately, we are less happy than we’ve ever been. A Harvard study in 2010 found that only 45% of workers surveyed were happy at their jobs, the lowest in 22 years of polling. Depression rates today are ten times higher than they were in 1960.
We used to think happiness was a set point that you are born with, leaving you little room to determine your happiness fate. We now know based on extensive research, that that is simply not the case. Our brains are absolutely amazing, and can actually be changed, a process called self-directed neuro-plasticity. By improving our mood and implementing happiness strategies, we can improve our happiness and experience the happiness advantage.
Happiness also leads to success in nearly every area of our life, including work, health, friendship, sociability, creativity, and energy.
Positive emotions cause our brain to create dopamine and serotonin, chemicals that not only make us feel good, but dial up the learning centers of our brains to higher levels.
What does this mean for us? People who put their head down and work hard, waiting for their success to drive their happiness are at a huge disadvantage, while people who capitalize on positivity are more successful and yes, happier.
Happiness is not a magical concept, and it does not need to occur in huge events. Something as small as a funny video clip or conversation with a friend can have an immediate boost in cognitive power and job performance.In fact, psychologists have found that positive emotions can “undo” physical stress and anxiety, a phenomenon they call the “undoing effect”.
Next week I’ll start exploring Achor’s strategies for improving your level of happiness!
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Anne breaks down the daily habits and skills needed to grow and cultivate RESILIENCE.
I don’t know about you, but when the weather starts warming up and flowers start blooming, I suddenly feel the urge to clean everything. Closets, junk drawers, my email inbox, that mysterious Tupperware graveyard in the kitchen…the list goes on.
But here’s the thing most people forget: The most important space to declutter isn’t your garage—it’s your mind.
Here are 5️⃣ ways to give your brain a fresh start and reclaim some peace, time, and energy. 🧠
1. Clear Digital Clutter.
2. Do a Mental Sweep.
3. Prioritize Like a Pro.
4. Drop the Cape.
5. Breathe. For Real.
I’m sharing more in this month’s blog post! Link is in my bio 👆👆
Create a mantra this week, put it on a sticky note where you will see it, and say it often. Here is mine:
May I find joy
May I find peace
May I feel love
May I be at ease
#mindfulmonday #mindfulness #mantra #selflove #resilience
Take a break from your screen this weekend. 📲
Last week, I had the honor of speaking for the talented recruiting team at @bcg at the beautiful @rcchicago. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with BCG for 14 years, and they just keep getting better!
Midweek reminder to put your oxygen mask on first. 🗣
Today, I turn 5️⃣0️⃣. FIFTY! Like, half a century. I’m not sure how that happened because in my head I’m still 29 (but with better boundaries and worse joints).
As I cross this milestone with a few more laugh lines, a couple of scars, and a stronger appreciation for stretchy pants, here are a few things I’ve learned:
🏃♀️ Chase joy like it’s your job.
Life is loud and hectic, and it will gladly eat up every minute if you let it. Make time for things that make you laugh and bring you joy. Those are the moments that matter.
✨ Prioritize your people.
Your job is important, but it’s not your identity. The people you love are the greatest predictor of your happiness, health, and even how long you stick around. Nurture those relationships like your life depends on it—because it kinda does.
💪 Get uncomfortable.
Comfort zones feel safe but they are cozy little traps. Stay there too long and you start to shrink instead of grow. Try stuff that scares you a little. Be bad at something new. Say yes before you feel ready. Awkward is the price of admission for awesome.
🧠 Your body is not a rental.
It’s the only one you get. After a tumor, back surgery, and a triple fusion neck surgery in the not too distant future, I’ve learned the hard way: do not take your health for granted. Move and be active while you can.
🔌 Don’t waste your energy sweating the small stuff.
Because the big stuff will hit the fan—and that’s when you’ll need your mental and emotional strength. The rest will work itself out (or at least give you a funny story to tell later).
Thanks for being in my life. I appreciate you.
Here’s to another 50 years of grit, grace, and mildly inappropriate humor. 🎉
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Anne Grady is a Speaker, Author, and #TruthBomb Dropper.
Anne shares practical strategies that can be applied both personally and professionally to improve relationships, navigate change, and triumph over adversity. And she’ll make you laugh while she does it. Anne is a two time TEDx speaker, and her work has been featured in numerous media outlets, including Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Fast Company and Inc. magazines, CNN, ESPN, and FOX Business. She is the best selling author of 3 books. Her newest, Mind Over Moment: Harness the Power of Resilience, is available on Amazon now.
Easier said than done! Can’t we have both–success & happiness?
Definitely easier said than done. And yes, according to the research, happiness begets success. Stay tuned for next week’s post with some strategies to get there! 🙂 Hope you are doing well. miss you!
Great article. Makes sense. Let’s be happy! 🙂 Have a great week Anne!
Thanks Juanita! You too!
The video was great. I look forward to the next installment from the book.
Thanks Eddie!