happiness advantage
The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology that Fuel Success at Work
Traditionally, most people believe that in order to be successful they must work hard, and once they are successful, they will be happy. Today we have the beliefs that if we can just find that great job or win that promotion, happiness will follow. This theory may be the cause of many people leading unhappy lives. The Happiness Advantage: the Seven Principles of Positive Psychology to Fuel Success at Work by Shawn Achor a psychologist and former professor at Harvard shows how positive psychology research has proven the complete opposite. Achor provides stories and case studies from his research among many Fortune 500 companies and executives in 42 different countries, to explain how we can reprogram our brains to become more positive to gain a competitive edge at work. Achor has established seven principles that serve as a foundation to the characteristics of the happiness advantage to show how they can be beneficial to maximizing individual potential. Happiness is the precursor to success, not merely the result… happiness and optimism actually fuels performance and achievement (Achor, 4). Positive psychology researchers conducted over 200 studies on 275,000 people worldwide and found exactly what Shawn depicts in the book, happiness leads to success in nearly every domain including work, health, friendship, sociability, creativity and energy. Thus, when people become more positive their brains will become more engaged, creative, motivated energetic, healthier, resilient, and productive. These seven principles will help individuals overcome obstacles, reverse bad habits, become more efficient and productive, make the most of opportunities, and help conquer the most ambitious goals either in life or in work. The principles include the happiness advantage, the fulcrum and the lever, the Tetris effect, falling up, the Zorro circle, the 20-second
Traditionally, most people believe that in order to be successful they must work hard, and once they are successful, they will be happy. Today we have the beliefs that if we can just find that great job or win that promotion, happiness will follow. This theory may be the cause of many people leading unhappy lives. The Happiness Advantage: the Seven Principles of Positive Psychology to Fuel Success at Work by Shawn Achor a psychologist and former professor at Harvard shows how positive psychology research has proven the complete opposite. Achor provides stories and case studies from his research among many Fortune 500 companies and executives in 42 different countries, to explain how we can reprogram our brains to become more positive to gain a competitive edge at work. Achor has established seven principles that serve as a foundation to the characteristics of the happiness advantage to show how they can be beneficial to maximizing individual potential. Happiness is the precursor to success, not merely the result… happiness and optimism actually fuels performance and achievement (Achor, 4). Positive psychology researchers conducted over 200 studies on 275,000 people worldwide and found exactly what Shawn depicts in the book, happiness leads to success in nearly every domain including work, health, friendship, sociability, creativity and energy. Thus, when people become more positive their brains will become more engaged, creative, motivated energetic, healthier, resilient, and productive. These seven principles will help individuals overcome obstacles, reverse bad habits, become more efficient and productive, make the most of opportunities, and help conquer the most ambitious goals either in life or in work. The principles include the happiness advantage, the fulcrum and the lever, the Tetris effect, falling up, the Zorro circle, the 20-second
Cited: Achor, Shawn. The Happiness Advantage: the seven principles of positive psychology in the work place. New York: Crown Business, 2010.