Today seems like a good day to talk about Unicorns. Hmmm, not the $1 billion ones, or for our Canadian friends, this post is not about narwhals. It’s about the other kind of unicorns, the ones that go with rainbows, sugar and spice and everything nice; a very special unicorn named Amy.
Sorry. You need to watch psychologist Shawn Anchor’s TED talk to get it. Actually, you've got to watch it! Not only is Anchor hilarious, the message is relevant to every working professional: our happiness has a huge impact on our success.
So what can we learn from the story of 5 year old Amy transcending injuries (a new broken leg to complement the broken arm from a previous week) sustained while playing with her overly imaginative older brother? First, of course, to supervise our children because apparently an overactive imagination can hurt. But the real lesson here is that when we face challenges, whether physical or emotional, we can use our internal resources to either embrace the pain and misery or use them to create a new reality. At the tender age of 7, Anchor has discovered positive psychology.
According to Anchor, hope comes before happiness. Based on his research, happiness starts with realizing that we have choices. We can focus our brain on what’s wrong and painful or on new possibilities. Happiness is more than just being a Pollyanna believing that everything is great and always looking on the bright side. At the core, being happy is believing that change is possible. It is about the joy we feel when we make great efforts to achieve our full potential. The premise is that instead of working hard to achieve happiness, we need to start with being happy and then everything else will fall into place. It’s all about the power of positivity and retraining our brain to look at things from a different perspective.
Anchor also confirms that there are those lucky few who are genetically disposed toward happiness as opposed to those who have a hard time finding the silver lining. However, our genetics determine only 10% of our long-term happiness; the remaining 90% of our long-term happiness is determined by choosing positive responses to situational factors. And when we choose positivity and happiness, it gives us a competitive advantage, especially during difficult times. He maintains that happiness drives success, and not vice versa. Happy people are more productive and more successful.
Decades of research point to evidence that with adopting daily positive habits we can rewire our brains to change our happiness baseline. Apparently it really is the little things in life that can make us happy, according to Anchor. He proposes “happiness hygiene” techniques in just 2 minutes a day to change our perspective and change our well-being. For example, think about 3 things you are grateful for, journaling about something positive, meditating, etc.
And for those who no longer keep notebooks and pens around, there are now many positive psychology apps to choose from. Here are 2 that I recommend:
Your Happiness Journal App - https://personaljournalapp.com/
Your Happy app - Happify - http://www.happify.com/
More about the above principles in Shawn Anchor’s books “The Happiness Advantage” and “Before Happiness.”
