Psychologist Shawn Achor talks about our need to reverse the formula for happiness and success. In this fast-moving and humorous talk Shawn Achor argues that happiness inspires productivity and not the other way round.
Both pessimists and optimists can be realists. A realist sees the reality around him, but how one internalizes and processes that information is what makes one a pessimist or optimist. The pessimist will not perform as well as the optimist because a positive mind performs better than one that is negative, neutral, or stressed.
"Raise your positivity in the present and your brain experiences a happiness advantage" Shawn Achor
At the end of the talk these practical things we can do to raise our happiness levels and create positive lasting change are suggested:
Write down 3 things you're grateful for 21 days in a row.
Journaling about one positive experience you had over the last 24hrs.
Exercise teaches your brain your behaviour matters
Meditation allows the brain to get over the cultural ADHD we created by trying to do multiple tasks.
Random acts of kindness or conscious acts of kindness.
Open an email and praise one person in your social support network.
