Happiness leads to success, not the other way around
In a this fascinating TEDx talk, Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage, shares the experimentally confirmed results that happiness brings us success. This is particularly valuable for entrepreneurs:
“every time you have a success, your brain changes what success means… if happiness is on the opposite side of success, you’ll never get there. But if you increase your levels of happiness in the midst of a challenge—in the midst of searching for investment, in the midst of a down economy—what we find is that all of your success rates rise dramatically – every business outcome improves.” Shawn Achor
Our brains work significantly better when we’re feeling positive, a sunny outlook helps us be smarter and more creative. “We found that optimism is the greatest predictor of entrepreneurial success because it allows your brain to perceive more possibilities,” said Achor. As we learn with ADHD, genetics sets much of our level of optimism or ability to handle stress, but Achor explains:
Genes are really important to happiness, but that’s based upon the cult of the average. What that means is that the average person doesn’t fight their genes. So if you’re born with genes for obesity or for pessimism, and you don’t change your behavior than your genes win. Happiness comes easier to some people, but happiness is a possibility for all if we change our behavior or our mindset.
