Happiness is the key

Wellness

Everyone knows that if you work hard, you will be more successful in life, and if you are more successful, then you will be happy, right? Recent discoveries in positive psychology show that this formula is actually backward:

Happiness fuels success, not the other way around.

My curiosity to dig deeper into understanding happiness when i saw this Ted talk by Shawn Achor. I was flipped. I am asian, all my life all that ever thought to me was, if I scored good grades. I get better in life. When you get better in life you get to be happy. "Total BS!"

2.901

The happiness number. The number of positive experiences we need to have to the negative ones. To boost your performance you need to perceive at least 3 +ive experiences for every -ive one. If we dip below this ratio the performance starts to suffer. Anything higher is escaping reality. There are threats out there we need to be aware of them. We can't ignore them. We need to work on upping the opportunities and upping the positive experience we perceive every day. It's a work ethic, we need to work on it like any other job.

Sweat

Exercises make people feel good. When we move out heart rate increases, and more blood to our brain. During exercise, our body releases endorphins, which are natural painkillers and mood elevators. Endorphins interact with receptors in the brain, creating a feeling of euphoria and reducing the perception of pain. Reduced cortisol - stress hormone level. Deep sleep. And a sense of accomplishment.

Pick a sport Gym, Dancing, squash, running anything go play. At least an hour a day. It's badminton for me. My on-court learning far exceeds what I have read in books.

Any progress is progress

You cannot fly to the summit in a jump. You hold a stick, pack a backpack one step at a time climb. Sometimes you need a breather that's ok. But every step you take is one less step to the summit. Acknowledging small victories, no matter how small, can provide the encouragement needed to strive through the inevitable obstacles and setbacks that arise when pursuing a difficult goal.

Too tired to go to the gym? Simply show up. If you are thinking of working out those tired legs, you are more likely to skip it. The first step is to show up. Whatever happens next is not so important as much as showing up. Consistent small steps are what drive lasting change.

Hell Yeah or No

If you don't like doing something, "No" is a perfectly ok answer. Saving your time and investing in something you like is more important.

Whatever scares you go do it. Fear is a form of excitement.

Life is an ongoing process of choosing between safety (of fear and need for defense) and Risk (for progress and growth)

From the book of Derek Sivers, when money and attention are no longer the first thing on your mind, you can focus on work that is interesting and useful. You work harder at it, you stay up late, you persist. This type of effort often sees a breakthrough. You are going to build something remarkable, that makes money and garners attention.

Put in the work

In Design thinking workshops, they always do a "Happy hour", a quick simple fun activity. Why? When we are not thinking of another boring meeting to attend, ideas flow.

In the book Creativity, Inc., by Ed Catmull. during "Notes Day" Guido Quaroni, VP of the Tools department, puts in a lot of effort in keeping 120 engineers happy. His challenge on that front is real: His department develops tech. And Pixar doesn't sell tech. How does he do it? "Personal project days". Two days a month he allowed his engineers to do anything they wanted using Pixar resources to engage with whatever problem or question they found interesting. Any idea that sparked their curiosity they were free to pursue.

Being happy before you work and during work, makes you more resourceful and effective. Like everything, being happy takes effort. It's like a job, put in the effort and it pays really well!

References and further reading

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