Secrets of being happy

During the course “5 secrets of positive thinking” I got a chance to listen the TED talk by Shawn Achor on “The happy secret to better work”.

Shawn Achor is the world’s leading positive psychology expert and bestselling author. According to him 90 % of our happiness is predicted by the way our brain processes the world and 75% of our job success is predicted by our optimism and social support. We think, “If I can find my dream job, or win the promotion, get a new car, house etc. Then happiness will follow.” We whole life think about it and when do not get it start negative thinking like blaming ourselves , Govt. people around us etc. But Shawn Achor research and other discoveries in the field of positive psychology have shown that Happiness fuels success, not the other way around. When we are positive, our brains become more engaged, creative, motivated, energetic, resilient, and productive at work.

The question is

What are the ways that can help us to increase our experience of happiness?

1) Bring gratitude to mind: Write down three NEW things that you are grateful for each day

2) Journal: About a positive experience you’ve had recently for two minutes once a day

3) Exercise: Engage in 15 minutes of mindful cardio activity, breathing exercises that can relax our mind

4) Meditate: Watch your breath go in and out for two minutes a day and

5) Engage in a random, conscious act of kindness: Write a two-minute positive email thanking a friend or colleague, or compliment someone you admire on social media Do these steps for 21 days, and you will begin to see a lasting shift in your mindset towards more positivism.

Story of Negative mindset

It’s going to tell a situation where I found negativity. Recently I met to one of my friend after a long time and came to know that how thinking change according to situations. She was very good during her academia have good grades, good skills but jobless. That is major issue of current era. I asked her about job and she was like job is not for me. I have got good grades but not abilities the market is looking for. I do not know who people get their dream jobs and how.

I was shocked by her words because I always find her very happy encouraging and supporting to others and at the time of her own she is much disappointed.

Positive mindset

She should focus on herself and identify which skills, abilities she has. She should be thankful for all those that God has given to her. She should find out her USP’s (Unique selling points) that differentiate her from others and then search for job. I believe by continuous hard work, self-believe and looking forward you can achieve everything what you want.

How it’s possible?

1. Every time you catch yourself thinking a negative thought, replace the thought with a positive one.

2. Do some breathing exercises to refresh your mind so that you can think peacefully and If you catch yourself visualizing failure, visualize success instead.

3. If you hear yourself using negative words in your conversation, switch to positive words.

4. Instead of saying, “I cannot”, say, “I can”. Most of the time you can, but choose to say “cannot”, due to fear, laziness or lack of self-esteem.

5. Allow more positive attitude(Show gratitude, perform random acts of kindness) into your life. Have more faith in yourself and expect positive results. Affirmations and visualization can take you a long way in this direction.

6. Decide that from today, from this very moment, you are leaving negative thinking behind you, and starting on the way toward positive thinking and behavior.

I choose the steps showing gratitude, breathing exercise and random acts of kindness, suggested be Shawn Achor. By following these during the week I noticed that by showing gratitude to the people around us I got an amazing self-satisfaction and happy as everyone around us becomes humble and kind towards us. Breathing exercises help to refresh mind and make me able to think more positively in every situation. By doing an act of kind for someone the happiness I got is mind blowing, never ending. The same thing when we work in group and help each other without expecting, showing respect and gratitude this fascinate others about ourselves and gave them a direction to act in same ways.