Are You Happy?

Are you happy?  Are you a happy person?  What makes you happy?

No, really.  Are you happy?

It turns out happiness is more important than we might originally have thought.  Shawn Achor, a Harvard researcher and motivational speaker, wrote a book, The Happiness Advantage, in 2010, and a group of my staff and I are currently reading it for a book study.  The study really started with a Ted Talk that I shared during a staff meeting.  Achor presents his research on happiness, and I encourage everyone to watch it here.

Achor proves that our conventional wisdom of happiness is wrong.  We used to think the following:

  1. I get paid well,
  2. which makes me happy.
  3. Therefore, I'm more productive.
Research has proven that the formula looks more like:
  1. I choose to be happy.
  2. My happiness makes me more productive.
  3. Therefore, I get paid more.
The book reiterates the Ted Talk, but then it goes into further research and practical strategies that everyone can apply to be more happy.  In the end, our brains are resilient and can learn to be happy--even under the most difficult of situations.  Happiness impacts our relationships, our stress health, our ability to learn, and so much more.

While some folks might see research like Achor's as "pop psychology," I encourage everyone to watch the video and read the book.  How we choose to face the challenges of the 21st century will be dependent on our perspectives.  If we only see the problems, we will probably only find the problems.  On the contrary, if we intentionally train ourselves to look for solutions with a happiness mindset, we may surprise ourselves with the solutions that arise.  Even more, our children and students are watching us and learning that happiness is a choice.






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