On the corporate call last night our CEO shared a story about a gentleman he had met named Shawn Achor who is the author of a book called The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work.? After researching thousands of Fortune 500 executives in over 40 countries, Achor is able to explain how we can reprogram our brains to be happy and gain a competitive edge in business. Achor gives a motivating speech at TED which you can watch below.
In his speech Achor says “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.”
The concept is simple and so is his formula.? Take the next 21 days show a sign of gratitude.? Either write down 3 different things each day that you are grateful for or send someone a note each day that has had an impact on your life and let them know that you are grateful for them.? It seems to me that the latter is more rewarding and can create more of a sense of reward and cultivate happiness so to speak.? Cultivating this happy environment will in theory make you happier and improve your attitude or spirit which will then ooze out of you and make everything in general better, including work.
Who knew that happiness could be my most competitive advantage?? Actually I did know that. :)? I learned this from being unhappy and working a job I didn’t like because I had to.? I am grateful that I no longer have to do that.? I have and will continue to teach my kids to do what you love.? Steve Jobs has a great speech where he focuses on this. To be honest, this speech had such an impact on my life, that I highly recommend you watch it if you have not seen it.
So as far as our CEO’s 21 day Attitude of Gratitude challenge, I guess my first public thank you will go to Steve Jobs for his beautiful speech and the butterfly effect it had in my life.? I hope he died knowing how many people he touched with his words and vision.
Day 2 11/27 – I am grateful for good health.? I’ll keep taking my Greens to keep it that way. 🙂
Day 3 11/28 – I am grateful for my immediate and extended family.
So now lets get out there and create ripples of positivity!
What are you grateful for?