Never before in history has so much been researched and written about the state of happiness and yet many people are unhappier than ever before.
In 2010, the American Job Satisfaction Survey reached its lowest level in 22 years.
Only 45% of employees were happy at work, although a lot has changed for the better in the last 22 years, just think of the increase in paid vacation days or the generally more appreciative treatment compared to the past.
Measured cases of depression are also ten times higher today than in the 1960s. Back then, the average age at which the first depression occurred was 29.5 years, today it is 14.5 years.
In 2004, a Harvard survey Crimson Depression found that more than 4 out of 5 Harvard students suffer from depression at least once during the semester.
You're probably wondering how it's possible to be depressed as a Harvard student when you have the best opportunities to lay the foundations for a happy and successful life. However, research shows us something completely different.
That is why it is so important to understand what true happiness really means and how we can bring it into our lives.
One of the best books I know in this field is: The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology that Fuel Success and Performance at Work by Shwan Achor.
He is a professor at Harvard and over the last 12 years has become one of the leading experts in happiness research and the relationship between happiness and success. He has written numerous New York Times bestsellers and has lectured in more than 50 countries. The Happiness Advantage is incredibly entertaining to read and is also available as an audiobook - The Happiness Advantage.
Success does not make you happy
The biggest misconception that many people have is that they will be happy when, for example, they get their next pay rise, reach their next sales target or have lost 5 kg.
It's always about if I achieve or get something, I will be happy. The big problem with this approach is that we will never be satisfied. With every success, we raise the bar even higher and so we are constantly chasing our happiness. We can't be happy at all, because as soon as one goal is achieved, we set ourselves new, higher goals so that we never reach happiness.
Research findings in positive psychology and neuroscience in recent years have shown that the relationship between success and happiness works the other way round.
Success does not make you happy, but happy and positive people have more success and experience long-lasting happiness.
Waiting to be happy when we achieve something limits our brain's potential for success.
However, when we work on a more positive mindset and attitude, it makes us more motivated, efficient, creative, resilient and productive. A positive thinking brain has an almost unfair advantage over the same brain in a negative or neutral state.
Studies show that the performance of a salesperson who considers themselves happy is 37% higher than that of colleagues who chase their happiness. Happy people are 31 percent more productive and 19 percent more accurate in their work than their grumpy colleagues. People who radiate optimism and happiness have a 40 percent higher chance of being promoted than other employees. People who are happy at work triple their creativity, increase their intelligence and even improve their health enormously.
A Copernicus moment
Mankind long believed that the earth was the center of the universe and that the sun revolved around the earth. But Copernicus proved that the exact opposite was the case and that the earth revolved around the sun. We are currently seeing a similar phenomenon of fundamental change in the field of psychology.
It has been drummed into us that if we work hard enough, we will be successful and only then, if we are successful, will we be happy.
But thanks to the findings of positive psychology, we know that the opposite is true. When we are happy and our attitude and mood are positive, we are smarter, more motivated and therefore more successful. Happiness is the center around which success revolves and not the other way around as is always assumed.
More than 200 scientific studies involving over 275,000 people have concluded that happiness leads to success in almost all areas of our lives, including marriage, health, friendship, social engagement, creativity and, above all, in our work and businesses.
But the biggest question is, what is happiness?
Generally speaking, happiness strongly depends on how we perceive reality. That's why there are people who live in poverty but are still very happy, and wealthy people who are deeply unhappy.
Everyone has their own definition of happiness, but the factors that make people happy are the same everywhere.
Social recognition and relationships are the most important signs of long-term happiness. Based on his study, Shawn Achor found that there is a strong correlation, a correlation of 0.7 between social approval and happiness (which is incredibly high), higher than the correlation between smoking and cancer!
Happiness is not something that happens to us at random, but happiness is an emotional and mental state that we can work towards, just as we can improve our body and strengthen our health if we work on it. So how do we train our brains to be more positive and happy? Achor's suggestions are surprisingly simple and at the same time well-founded, as they are in line with the latest findings from brain research.
Some proven ways to increase happiness levels
Meditation - Neuroscientists have found that monks who meditate for years grow their left prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain most responsible for feeling happy.
But you don't need to be a Buddhist monk to benefit from meditation. A Harvard study - Meditation, for example, shows that after just 8 weeks of daily practice, meditation builds brain cells and increases gray matter in the hippocampus. This area of the brain controls memory, learning, self-awareness, introspection and compassion. At the same time, gray matter in the amygdala decreased, which was expressed as feelings of relaxation and stress reduction reported by study participants
Gratitude - Researchers have found that people become much more optimistic when they discover three new things to be grateful for every day.
Positive notes - Write a positive note or email to someone every day to express your gratitude or appreciation to that person. These short messages, which take less than two minutes to write, have been found to have a very positive impact on social relationships and therefore our sense of happiness.
Exercise - Doing half an hour of cardio exercise three times a week, or a seven minute work out every day, has the same effect as taking an antidepressant. This is not to say that you can only benefit from exercise if you are depressed, but shows the emense effects physical exercise can have. Exercise releases proteins and endorphins, which in turn makes us happier.
DREAMWORK TIP
Write down three things you are grateful for every day. This takes less than three minutes a day and helps your brain to reorient itself and build up new neuron pathways. Do this for 21 days and see what happens. With this exercise, you train your brain for happiness and positivity. This significantly increases your optimism.
Erhalte mehr Tipps, wie diesen: << Hier klicken >>
Those who cultivate and nurture their personal sense of happiness have a significantly higher chance of achieving and realizing all their goals, even in tough times.
Because one thing is now proven: Happiness is not the end product, but the precursor to greater success.
TED Talk by Shawn Achor
If you want to delve even deeper into the topic, I can highly recommend the TED Talk by Shawn Chor. Twelve minutes of your time well invested in an entertaining and lively talk for more happiness in your life.
What is DREAMWORK
With our DREAMWORK project, we want to encourage reflection and discussion on how we can improve our working conditions at Saalbacher Hof and in our entire industry.
We want to bring more happiness into our lives now and not just at some point when it might be too late.
Subscribe to our newsletter if you would like to read more about our innovative projects and happiness at work in general. Just click on the following link:
We look forward to your comments and a lively exchange of ideas. What do you think about happiness in the workplace? What would you like to change, or what works particularly well for you?
You are welcome to post your comments below.
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