It seems like there are entire self-help sections of bookshops dedicated to the topic of happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s unsurprising. Now daily survival has been assured for a significant proportion of humanity, we fortunate ones have a new focus: life optimisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whereas our ancestors toiled through a hard day of manual labour simply to get food on the table, we’re now more concerned with how to enjoy our sliver of time on this little rotating sphere called Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enter positive psychology and The Happiness Advantage, which focuses on the evidence underpinning an outlook which might be considered polarising to many.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, I found this a fascinating read, providing extremely actionable advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are the highlights…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Positive psychology studies successful outliers to see which of their strategies we can adopt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– There’s a common myth that when you become successful, then you become happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– It’s actually the other way around. A study of nuns diaries in 1917 showed upon examination that the nuns with happier entries went on to live longer, more successful lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven or hell, a hell of heaven.”<\/span> John Milton<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
– Our interpretation of reality changes our experience of that reality, so when we flip our mindset and look for the positive, that’s what we find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– When we’re exposed to so much negativity around us, it’s no surprise that we harbour these feelings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Doctors make quicker, more accurate diagnosis when primed to feel positive<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– In today’s world, we sacrifice happiness for success, only to lower our chances of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seven Principles<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
- The happiness advantage<\/li>
- The fulcrum and the lever<\/li>
- The Tetris effect<\/li>
- Falling up<\/li>
- The Zorro circle<\/li>
- The 20-second rule<\/li>
- Social investment<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
– Neuroplasticity<\/strong> – you can change your brain, and the results are lasting<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Happiness – subjective well-being\/the experience of positive emotions (pleasure, engagement and meaning). Pursuing pleasure alone is not enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Negative emotions narrow thoughts and actions – good in life-threatening scenarios in an evolutionary sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– The evolutionary purpose of positive emotions is the ‘broaden and build’ theory – to be more thoughtful, creative and open to new ideas. Positive emotions help us to gather and consolidate our social connections and resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Biological effect – positive emotions release dopamine and serotonin to improve learning, memory and creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We see more of what’s around us when we’re happy. Positive emotions change how our visual cortex processes information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Study – when participants were primed for negativity, they didn’t see substantial parts of pictures compared to positively primed groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Being primed with positive thoughts before a task improves performance in many studies, even with 4-year-olds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Why? In addition to broadening intellect and creativity, positive emotions also provide a swift antidote to physical stress and anxiety – called ‘the undoing effect’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– We have a happiness baseline that we fluctuate around, but with enough effort, we can raise that baseline permanently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Proven Ways to Increase Happiness<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
- Meditate<\/li>
- Find something to look forward to anticipation can equal the reward itself<\/li>
- Commit conscious acts of kindness<\/li>
- Infuse positivity into your surroundings<\/li>
- Exercise<\/li>
- Spend money on experiences, ideally involving other people<\/li>
- Exercise a signature strength<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
– In the workplace, provide frequent recognition and encouragement – teams perform 31 % better. More motivating than money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Make an effort to adopt a more positive tone and facial expression – it will rub off on those around you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– The Losada Line<\/strong> – 2.9 ratio of positive to negative interactions necessary to make a corporate team successful. Takes three positive comments to fend off the effect of one negative one. Rise above the line, ideally to a ratio of 6-1, and teams produce their best work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Belief<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
– External reality (environment) important, but the power of mindset to shape our external reality may be more important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Placebo effect<\/strong> – works because of expectancy theory. Expectations create brain patterns that can be just as real as those created by the real world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Therefore, the mental construction of our daily life, more than the life itself, defines our reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– How you perceive your reality, defines your reality, on both a mental and physical level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– The way you look at any event is so important. Extract the positive out of everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Believing that you can be successful increases chances that you will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Always focus on and think about your strengths to improve performance during difficult tasks<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Once we realise how much our reality depends on how we view it, it comes as less of a surprise that our external circumstances predict only about 10% of our total happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– There are three ways to see work – as a job, a career or a calling. It does not matter what job you have. A cleaner can view their role as a calling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Job crafting – change your mindset to view it more as a calling. The more we can align our daily tasks with our personal vision, the more likely we are to see work as a calling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Priming, being positive and focusing on someone’s skills has a positive effect on their performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Pygmalion effect<\/strong> – when our belief in another person’s potential brings that potential to life. Study – teachers were primed to believe that certain children were gifted and through non-verbal cues, these children excelled. Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, people act as we expect them to act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– As science has shown, when we believe we can do and achieve more (or when others believe it for us), that is often the precise reason we do achieve more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Tetris Effect<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
– Cognitive afterimage – Tetris effect<\/strong>. Only scanning for the negative in the world around you is very detrimental. In this way, even a paradise can become a hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Jobs that require critical analysis or mistake spotting (accountancy for example) reinforce this behaviour. You can begin to overestimate your problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“My experience is what I agree to attend to.”<\/span> William James<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
– We only remember one of every hundred bits of info we’re exposed to in order to prevent cognitive overload. Spam filter in our brains can delete the positive information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Gorilla experiment – inattentional blindness. This selective perception is why, when we’re looking for something, we see it everywhere, including negativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Positive tetris effect: happiness, gratitude and optimism. Gratitude fuels happiness and optimism fuels work performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Expecting positive outcomes makes them more likely to arise. Luck study – Richard Wiseman.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Predictive encoding<\/strong> – priming yourself to expect a favourable outcome encodes your brain to recognize the outcome when it does arise. How to do it? Write down three positive things that happened in the last 24 hrs. Study shows that after a week, people were still happier 6 months later. Re-enforce ability to scan for the positives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Journaling about a positive experience is at least as effective as journaling about hardships\/worries. Positive effect amplifies with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– However, you can have too much positivity until it becomes maladaptive. Reasonable optimism is preferable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reframing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
– If we conceive of failure as an opportunity for growth, we are more likely to experience that growth. Post-traumatic growth – there are people who use adversity to their advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Learned helplessness<\/a> – in dogs and humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Change your counterfact – I was shot in the arm. At least it wasn’t my head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Change your explanatory style – interpret adversity as local and temporary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n