Putting Positive Psychology to the Test

I have this strange obsession with happiness lately. It seems to be all I can think about - how do I become happy? Truly happy. Not just, oh that was a good time and I am happy as a result happy. I'm talking about the kind of happy that resonates from within and drives our daily actions determining who we are and what we will be. I recently came across this TED talk and have listened to it at least 4 times this week. I (obviously) really enjoy this man's perspective and thoughts on the matter. (And let's not kid ourselves, anyone who begins a talk with a story about a unicorn is okay by me):

It is not necessarily reality which shapes us, but the lens through which your brain views the world that shapes your reality. If we can change the lens, not only can we change your happiness but we can change every single educational and business outcome at the same time.

Here is the dangerous question: What does a __(fill in the blank)__ have to be unhappy about? Embedded within that question is the key to understanding the science of happiness. Because what that question assumes is that our external world is predictive of our happiness levels, when in reality 90 percent of your long-term happiness is predicted not by the external world, but by the way your brain processes the world. And if we change it, if we change our formula for happiness and success, what we can do is change the way that we can then affect reality.

75 perfect of job successes are predicted by your optimism levels, your social support and your ability to see stress as a challenge instead of as a threat. As a society we are wired to be successful so that we can be happy, but our brains don't work that way.

If we can raise somebody's level of positivity in the present, then their brain experiences what we now call a happiness advantage, which is your brain at positive performs significantly better than it does at negative, neutral or stressed. Your intelligence rises, your creativity rises, your energy levels rise.

There are ways that we can train our brains to become more positive:

• write down 3 new things that you are grateful for, for 21 days in a row. At the end of the 21 days, the brain starts to retain a pattern of scanning the world, not for the negative, but for the positive first.
• journaling about one positive experience you've had over the past 24 hours allows your brain to relive it
• exercise teaches your brain that your behavior matters
• meditation allows your brain to get over the cultural ADHD that we've created from trying to do multiple tasks at once and allows the brain to focus on the task at hand
• random acts of kindness - write one positive email praising or thanking somebody in your social support network

I LOVE this. For the next 21 days I will be sharing 3 things that I am grateful for on this blog. If you are so inclined, join me on the path to greater happiness and by extension increased success. And keep me in the loop as to how your journey goes!