Personal Development

The Happiness Advantage

Seven Principles of Positive Psychology for Happiness

Cliff notes for The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work, by Shawn Achor

Positive brains have a biological advantage over brains that are neutral or negative. Cultivating positive brains helps make us more motivated, efficient, resilient, creative, and productive.

Positive emotions also flood our brains with dopamine and serotonin, chemicals that engage the learning centers of our brains to higher levels.
Our brains help us organize new information, keep that information in the brain longer, and retrieve it later on. Lastly, it also allows us to make more and better connections between the neurons in our brains, helping us think more creatively and more quickly.

Here are 7 ways you can be happier, today.

1. Meditate. Why? You’ll immediately feel calmer, more contented, and happy. And over time, you’ll actually grow the left prefrontal cortex of your brain, which is the part of the brain responsible for feeling happy.
2. Find something to look forward to. Why? The anticipation of the event is often the most enjoyable part of it and releases endorphins into your bloodstream.
3. Commit conscious acts of kindness. Acts of altruism contribute to enhanced mental health and decrease stress.
4. Infuse positivity into your surroundings. For starters, watch less negative TV. Turn off the news.
5. Exercise. You’ve heard this before, but it can boost your mood and enhance your work performance in a number of ways.
6. Spend money, but not on stuff. Buying things gives us fleeting joy, but spending money on experiences — especially with other people — produces strong positive emotions that last longer.
7. Exercise a “signature strength.” When we use a skill or a talent, we experience a burst of positivity.

Pick one and consider doing it. Tell us in the comments what you did and how it went.