26 May Do these 4 (simple) things every day for true happiness
via Inc.com by Michael Schneider
To be happier at work, our knee-jerk reaction is to tackle the most obvious causes of stress and anxiety: micromanagement, poor communication, inefficient tools, lack of ownership and better work/life balance, etc.
However, improvement in these areas will only serve as a temporary relief. According to Martin E.P. Seligman, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, the absence of negative emotions is not the path to happiness.
In a New York Times article, Dr. Seligman suggests that to achieve and sustain true happiness, we have to create it.
Let’s take a look at the four ways to incubate workplace happiness every day.
1. Identify signature strengths
According to Dr. Seligman’s research, focusing on what you’re good at lowers rates of depression and heightens satisfaction. By intentionally pursuing and using our signature strengths, we experience more positive emotions, and more positive emotions lead to a positive outlook and attitude.
Dr. Seligman isn’t alone. In a Gallup report, employees who learned to use their strengths were 7.8 percent more productive, six times more likely to be engaged at work, and their teams (that received strengths feedback) averaged 8.9 percent greater profitability.
2. Find the good
Redirecting your attention can be so powerful, that it’s recommended as a therapy for dealing with chronic pain. Janice M. Singles, Psy.D, of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, recommends positive thinking as a way to combat unrelenting pain. In a nutshell, patients who can identify their negative thoughts and change their thought patterns experience pain relief. (Mind over matter.) If not, repetitive and negative thoughts can escalate the pain.
For the day-to-day, I’ve heard strategies such as writing down positive thoughts before bed to re-wire your brain to be more optimistic. I’m not sure of the scientific validity, but common sense-wise, it’s believable that optimism could be a byproduct of forcing yourself to reflect on “the good.” Dr. Seligman takes this theory a step further by encouraging people to also describe why those things went well. Worst case, implementing this process will turn your attention away from negative, destructive thoughts.
I guess there is some rationality to the phrase, “fake it to you make it.”
…keep reading the full & original article HERE