I’ll bet you didn’t know that this past Sunday was International Day of Happiness?! …and that, in a recent poll, the happiest country in the world is Denmark….which makes my planned trip there in September even more appealing!
My friend Maggie, whose on my rowing team, knows how much I love positive daily affirmations and just making life the best it can be. She told me I needed to read Shawn Achor’s book, The Happiness Advantage, and let me borrow it. I had seen his Ted talk, so I was familiar with him, but had never explored the entire book….and WOW, am I glad I did!! I loved it so much that I downloaded my own copy from Audible and have listened to it a couple of times. It’s not just a feel good, “don’t worry, be happy” book. It’s like a text book for a class that teaches you the science behind happiness and how to implement it in your daily life. It seems frivolous, unrealistic and to some even insulting to tell people “just buck up and be happy.” The thing that sets this book apart is the in depth science that Achor goes into to explain and teach why it’s just better, more productive and healthier to be happy.
Over the next few weeks I’m going to go through Shawn’s book and synopsize the chapters or key points of the 7 Principles of Positive Psychology that I feel are compelling and important and hopefully will help you. This is in no way a substitute for the entire book and I would encourage you to buy the book or download it on audible and listen to it while you’re driving…or walking/whatever..it’s pretty fascinating.
So, as a teaser I’ll just let you know that at the beginning of the book he outlines the 7 Principles of Success/Positive Psychology, and then goes back in depth in the subsequent chapters to elaborate. They are….
- Positive Mindset…retraining your brain to be positive
- The Fulcrum and the Lever
- The Tetris Effect
- Falling Up
- The Zorro Circle
- The 20 Second Rule
- Social Investment
Stay tuned and I hope you’ll join me on this scientific discovery of happiness. It’s worth re-visiting over and over!
You cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails!
