QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Nothing was ever built on pessimism. I think you never make wise decisions with fears…The right approach is to be optimistic, and we’ll find solutions to all of our problems.”

— François Rochon

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THE MAIN STORY: HAPPINESS MATTERS

Overview

We’re often taught that success is a prerequisite for happiness.

For example, it’s said that you must do well in school to get a good job and earn lots of money, which enables you to provide for a family and be well-respected. All this will apparently make you happy.

The underlying premise, though, is that with success comes happiness. Career success and, correspondingly, wealth are idealized and conflated with happiness.

But Shawn Achor, a Harvard-educated researcher who has spent over a decade examining the factors that contribute to a “good life,” believes the opposite.

In his book, The Happiness Advantage, Achor argues that happiness in life comes first as a precursor to success.

Breaking it down

How does he know this?

From interactions with thousands of executives at Fortune 500 companies, he learned that “happy” people were more likely to succeed because they were more motivated, engaged, and optimistic.

This means that happiness drove their professional achievements but didn’t necessarily come because of them.

He believes that, to put things quite simply, happiness varies due to our differing perceptions and responses to obstacles.

While we will all face hardship and suffering, we don’t all respond the same way. As the cliché goes, “Is the glass half empty or half full?”

How do you become a glass-half-full person?

Our brain is a truly amazing biological supercomputer that’s also rather flexible, so we can reprogram it to be more positive in its responses, giving us a “competitive advantage in life,” at least according to Achor.

Here are a few useful principles for spawning a positive attitude and happy life.

• The Fulcrum and the Lever: Adjust your mindset (fulcrum) in ways that give you more power (lever), for you control how you think about the world.
  People who view their work as a personal calling, not just a job or career, tend to be more motivated and productive.
  Naturally, these same people get rewarded and promoted more.
• The Tetris Effect: Train your brain to constantly look for the positives in life.
  Such a relentlessly hopeful outlook fosters gratitude and optimism, underpinning the happiness found in many “successful” people. Unhappy and unsuccessful people tend to find the negatives in every situation and overlook new possibilities.
• Zorro Circle: Regain control of your life by narrowing your circle of focus to smaller, more manageable goals until you rebuild strength and discipline
• Social Investment: Utilize your network of peers, friends, and family not just to get ahead but also to be happier.
  Finding mutually beneficial partnerships creates a team dynamic that can boost engagement and resiliency while offering greater satisfaction.

Advice

For more tangible advice, consider how frequently you praise and recognize others. Are you properly validating the important people in your life?

And don’t overlook how important tone is when communicating. Instructions and requests delivered to co-workers or family can be received tremendously differently depending on your tone.

With these principles and questions in mind, Achor encourages us to quantify our positive and negative interactions. To optimize for happiness, we ought to have a 3:1 ratio of positive to negative interactions in our professional and personal relationships.

Wrapping up

The takeaway from Achor’s book is that we can rewire our brains for happiness, and doing so comes with the added benefit of stronger relationships, greater productivity, and career success.

Don’t confuse career success with being a precondition for happiness.

Your internal happiness and positive psychology may drive your career to new heights, as Achor learned from prominent executives, but climbing the corporate ladder alone doesn’t induce happiness.

Dive deeper

For more on a similar topic, check out my reviews of the timeless books 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey and Principles by Ray Dalio.

And to read The Happiness Advantage, you can find it here.

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