Happiness Advantage Book by Shawn Achor

I recently read the book Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor and it was excellent read. The fundamental idea that this book evangelizes is that happiness brings you success and not otherway around. Here is highlight from the book.

we have led to believe that happiness orbited around success. That if we work hard enough, we will be successful, and only if we are successful will we become happy. Success was thought to be the fixed point of the work universe, with happiness revolving around it. Now, thanks to breakthroughs in the burgeoning field of positive psychology, we are learning that the opposite is true. When we are happy—when our mindset and mood are positive—we are smarter, more motivated, and thus more successful. Happiness is the center, and success revolves around it

Here is the number of proven methods suggested in the book that can improve our moods and raise our levels of happiness.

• Meditate: Take just five minutes each day to watch your breath go in and out.

• Find Something to Look forward to: If you can’t take time for a enjoyable event right now, put something on the calendar. Then whenever you need a boost of happiness, remind yourself about it

• Commit Concious Act of Kindness: Pick one a day of a week and make point of commiting five acts of kindness.

• Infuse Positivity Into Your Surroundings: Make specific efforts to infuse positivity in your surroundings and also change your surroundings to keep negative emotions out.

• Exercise: Walk, Bike , Run, Play or whatever you can do to keep you moving.

• Spend money on experiences (but Not on Stuff): Spend your money experiences like vacation , dinner out etc., instead of things like television, shoes.

• Exercise a Signature Strength: Everyone is good at something. A team of psychlogists recently catalogued the 24 cross-cultural signature strengths, you can take this survey to indentify your own signature strengths, then try to incorporate at least one of them into your life each day.

The book also provides practical, actionable principles that you can follow to increase your positive attitudes, happiness and become successful in your work and life.