success, happiness, giving
TRANSCRIPT
4 TASK MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
How giving can lead to happiness and success. Not the other way around.SUCCESS, HAPPINESS, AND GIVING
Sharon F. DanzgerProductivity Consultant
EARLY EXPECTATIONSGrowing up in the 1970s, we were taught:Hard Work = Financial Success = Happiness
Once you made it you could afford to start giving.THIS IS COMPLETELY BACKWARDS
THE HAPPINESS ADVANTAGEThe Happy Secret to Better Work, Shawn Achors wildly popular TED talk, shares the results of his global research from working in 45 different countries. Bottom Line: success is a result of happiness, not the other way around.According to Achor, expressing gratitude, daily meditation, exercise, acts of kindness, and writing positive experiences in a journal, all significantly contribute to an individual's happiness.
NEURAL PATHWAYSScientific research tells us that repeated thoughts create neural pathways. The more you identify positive things in your life, the deeper those pathways become. With some practice, your brain starts to look for the positive in things...it becomes a reflex. Even if you were born or raised as a pessimist, you can start to see your cup as being half full.
I'LL BE HAPPY WHENIf you have ever thought," I'll be happy when I _____ (fill in the blank: get promoted, lose weight, etc.) then you have probably found yourself disappointed. When we select events that will make us happy, once we reach them, we simply move the target. We decide we will be happy with the next promotion, lose another 10 pounds, etc. It becomes a never-ending cycle of unhappiness and discontent.Rather than linking happiness to success, we need to create daily routines that raise our level of happiness.
WHAT CAN YOU TAKE FROM THIS?Don't look to financial success to make you happy.Happiness results from some simple, but basic, daily routines. Putting a little effort into looking for the positive, helping others, being mindful of what is good in your life, and taking steps towards showing appreciation and kindness will increase your level of happiness.
And then, there are no limits to your success!
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