You might have heard Ben Sweetland’s quote before:
"Happiness is a journey,
not a destination"
However, people often behave like happiness is a destination. Many
believe that if they work harder they become more successful and when
they become successful then they will be happier. They reach their goal
but immediately the brain raises its bars and wants more success and
because of this they have not yet reached the destination of happiness.
Have you experienced this?
If so I have very good news for you. This formula is backwards. The correct formula is that happiness comes first and it leads to success.
How a positive brain performs better
Research has indicated that when our brain is positive, it performs
significantly better than when neutral or negative. Our intelligence
rises, creativity rises, energy level rises, and in fact every single
business outcome improves.
If we can find a way to be positive right now we can work faster, more efficiently and more intelligently.
5 scientific ways to be more positive
Thanks to several researchers, scientific ways to train your brain to
become more positive have been found. These include the following:
- Write down three things that you are grateful for every day (new thing every day)
- Journal about your emotional experience
- Exercise
- Meditate
- Perform a random act of kindness
What do you say, is it worth taking time every day to perform the above activities and become more positive and successful?
How to get started
If you want to implement a new habit, it can be useful to connect it
with something you are already doing. I connect two of these activities
with having breakfast.
Before breakfast I follow a meditation program on my phone called Take 10 by Headspace,
then I have my breakfast and afterwards it takes me about a minute or
two to write down three things every day that I am grateful for. I love
reading this book from time to time.
According to research we can rewire our brain in 21 days and I have
noticed how my brain is now more often than before looking for the
positive so I can write that down in my book :)
Another option is to receive an email everyday from Hapyr that reminds you of writing down three things everyday that you are grateful for.
What can you do right now to become more positive?
Will you set a reminder to meditate? Will you find a book and a pen
to write down what you are grateful for? Will you make your exercise
clothing ready for tomorrow? Will you perform a random act of kindness
right now by sending someone a thank you email or even a link to this
article?
You can learn more about the science of happiness in this great TED talk where psychologist Shawn Achor talks about the happy secret to better work:
Source: http://www.loromedia.com/be-happy-and-successful
