Shawn Achor provides more data on the science of wellness in his TED Talk:
The Happy Secret to Better Work
His humorous, story-filled talk, filled with research on where job success comes from, provides more proof of the importance of wellness at work. When he tells the audience this research is why he gets up in the morning, I nodded my head so enthusiastically I almost hurt my neck. Being so sure of your passion and purpose can be dangerous!
His research at Harvard (where else, really?!) suggests: it’s not neccesarily the reality that shapes us, but the lens our brain uses to view the reality. And if we can change our lens, we can change our happiness and in the process change every single business and educational outcome.
His research is a nice complement to yesterday’s blog post about our ability to re-train our brain.
The question is, can we change our lens?
Yes, the way our brain processes the world is a predictor for our happiness. AND it is possible to re-train our brain through practice.
Bingo! Hurrah! Touchdown!
Even more important, 75% of our job successes come from:
1. Optimistm
2. Our ability to see stress as a challenge instead of a threat
3. Social Support at work.
Want more? Our brain “on happiness mode” is 31% more productive than at negative, neutral, or stressed. There is a definitive, quantitative advantage to happiness. How is this so? A happy, positive brain pumps dopamine – which turns on learning centers in the brain.
Luckily, research tells us we can train our brain to become more positive. Through practice and habit building, we can learn to scan the world through a lens of positivity, instead of negativity.
Thousands of people learned to change their lens with the help of Improvisation and other similar tools. I’d like to help you become next.
Finally, a clear and useful source of solid business and leadership thinking on the internet. I have owned my company for 25 years and have been doing it the same way for a LONG time.
I recently began blogging my ‘lessons learned’ knowledgeadventures.wordpress.com
I really wish I had your input as source material, guidance when I started work years ago. I hope more people benefit from your writing.
Pat
Pat, thank you so much! What a nice compliment to receive. Feel free to email me if you’d like to share tips. All the best, Lindsey