Often, I hear people say, “I just want to be happy” or “I need more meaning/purpose in my life.” I’m so excited to share the following scientific findings about happiness from author and happiness researcher, Shawn Achor.
Shawn defines Happiness as: The joy you feel while you are moving toward your potential; even when life is difficult.
Scientific Findings:
Begin your day with just 3 minutes of negative news and it’s likely you will report having a negative day 6 to 7 hours later.
Happiness raises your daily productivity, triples your creativity, and increases your cognition/intellect.
30% of those practicing optimistic daily habits are more likely to live to be 94 years old.
Study done in a hospital for 21 days. Nurses, doctors, and staff were asked to smile every time they walked down the hall. The result: Hospital voted the friendliest and happiest hospital.
Life improves over all when you choose happiness!
Happiness is a choice, Happiness is contagious, and Happiness is an astronomical advantage to your life.
So how do you find Happiness?
Commit to 1 or several of the following practices for 21 days and transform your mind and life!
- Share or write down 3 things you are grateful for. Do this around the dinner table, at night before you go to bed, or anytime you feel negative thoughts flooding your mind. As a side note…Gratitude helps you trump any pessimistic genes you may have inherited!
- Think about one positive experience in your day and journal about it for 2 minutes. Simply write all the details as if you were telling a friend. In a study, Multiple Sclerosis patients did this for 6 weeks. The result: At the end of the 6 weeks, a high percentage of patients were able to cut their meds by 50%. What????? (scientific research friends)
- 15 minutes of fun exercise daily is equivalent to taking one daily anti-depressant. Wonder what 30 minutes is?
- 2 minutes of quieting yourself, meditation, watching your breath go in and out was shown to dramatically increase happiness, lower stress, and increase on the job accuracy by 10% (study done on Google executives)
- Most powerful practice in the study: For the next 21 days spend 2 minutes every day sending out an email or text, praising or thanking someone you know (phone or face to face encounter increases the positive effect). This exercise will skyrocket your social connection. By the way, social connection is the greatest predictor of long-term happiness and a predictor of how long you will live! Feeling lonely??? Here’s your assignment for the next 21 days!
What are you waiting for? Your life matters!
