5 Daily Habits to Boost Your Health based on The Science of Happiness

Do you want to be happy and successful?

There was an old belief that the harder you worked, the more successful you would be and that would make you happy. This belief that success leads to happiness is fundamentally flawed. If you believe this you will never achieve happiness. We now know that happiness comes first. Indeed studies of over a quarter of a million people found that happiness leads to success in nearly every domain including work, health, friendships, sociability, creativity and energy (Lyubomirsky, et al., 2005). We call this The Happiness Advantage.?

When Shawn Achor presented his research on the happiness advantage to the financial sector, he was faced with a huge challenge as the world banks had just been hit by the financial crisis of 2008. Yet they embraced the research and were taught three key lessons; they were taught how a positive mindset would give them the competitive edge. They were taught how building a strong social support system could eradicate anxiety. And they were also taught how the happiness advantage can help buffer them against the negativity that can spread within workplaces and even whole industries (Achor, 2011).?

How is happiness defined??

Happiness is defined as how satisfied you are with life, combined with how good you feel on a daily basis. By incorporating the lessons from positive psychology we know that you can improve your happiness through your ability to summon all your cognitive, intellectual and emotional resources to create positive change. When you learn the happiness advantage this ability is amplified because you’ve heard the research, explored the facts, learnt our strategies and know that true change is possible.?

Did you know??

There is extensive research highlighting the advantages of being happier and more optimistic at work, including the fact that happier workers are more productive, more motivated and engaged than others. Yet 76% of employees report that they struggle with their wellbeing (International WELL Building Institute). Organisations know the importance of wellbeing yet have been slow to adopt strategies to improve their workplace wellbeing.?

What are you doing to improve your workplace happiness??

The great thing about our strategies for workplace happiness is they do not cost anything. They’re free and available to everyone! By increasing your awareness of the importance of happiness for your health, and incorporating the following strategies, we know that you can improve all aspects of your physical, emotional and social wellbeing and the positive benefits will ripple throughout your organisation.?

5 Daily Happiness Habits

1. Laugh

Stressful pitch or presentation coming up? A surprisingly simple way to reduce stress and even focus your cognitive ability is to read, watch or listen to something funny immediately before your presentation. This can be absolutely anything you find humorous; we know that comedy is a very subjective thing! So, the next time you have a stressful meeting at work prepare for it by watching those ridiculously funny cat videos (it can’t just be me)? Psychologists call this the “undoing effect” whereby your brain is focused on positive emotions which act as an antidote to stress and anxiety (Fredrickson, 2001).?

2. Give thanks

This is the daily happiness habit that has had the biggest impact on me. Every evening my kids and I share three things that have happened that day that we are grateful for. The range of thank-yous is astonishing (particularly from my twelve year old!) and while some evenings there’s very little detail, other evenings it opens up into a wonderful chat about a specific event or moment of their day.?

3. Rest

Your brain has a limited cognitive capacity. There is only so much information it can process on a daily basis. Do you have a particularly taxing meeting after lunch? Then please don’t spend your lunch break looking over serious work or having challenging discussions with workmates. Give your brain a rest to ensure you have the capacity to perform at your best when it's needed. Our?workshops explain how these three strategies work and give you an opportunity to understand the science behind the habit.?

4. Move

Did you know that what’s good for your heart, is good for your brain? Fact! If you are healthy and increase the blood flow around your whole body, including your brain, you will be able to perform better at work. In addition to this exercise is a natural antidote to depression and anxiety and has been shown to decrease the symptoms of depression for sufferers to the point where medication can be reduced. And while you’re at it, listen to music while you exercise and it will further increase your mood by up to 15% (BASES, 2011). Our?workshop on Lessons from High Performance Sport for the Workplace will give you take home tips and actionable strategies to gain the greatest benefits from whatever type of physical activity, exercise or movement you prefer.

5. Eat

See the rainbow, taste the rainbow… What’s on your plate? Have you thought about how your food intake could be impacting your happiness? There’s lots of great nutritional advice available and our workshop on the Nutrition Advantage covers this in much greater depth. Dr Rahul Jandial’s excellent book “Life?Lessons from a Brain Surgeon” recommends the Mediterranean diet for wellbeing and happiness: This includes lots of fruit and colourful vegetable, oily fish and a glass of red wine… what’s not to like?

How do these strategies work?

While the science of these strategies are beyond the scope of this blog I can give you an overview of how some aspects of positive psychology works. One way is through positive inception, whereby you are literally transferring your positive reality to others. The process of spreading happiness between people is also contagious for you and the recipient. As you smile your brain releases dopamine which makes you feel better, and when your smile is seen by others, the positive emotion is picked up by wireless mirror neurons in the recipient’s brain which unconsciously mimics your actions – the ripple effect of happiness has begun!?

?Some of these things may seen ridiculous in a serious work setting, but given that their worth has been scientifically proven you’d be mad not to try them! Everyone knows one or two activities that would make them smile, however trivial they may feel, their benefits are worth it.?

What are you going to do to increase your happiness advantage and decrease stress for your life??

By applying these strategies you will improve your wellbeing, happiness and success in work and life. I’d love to hear which strategies work for you and how you get on. Let me know via LinkedIn or when we catch up in person...

Research & Readings:

Achor, S. (2011).?The Happiness Advantage. Virgin Books: UK.?

BASES (2011). Expert Statement on the Use of Music in Exercise. British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences: UK.?

Chatterjee, R. (2018).?The Stress Solution: The 4 Steps to Reset Your Body, Mind, Relationships & Purpose.?Penguin: UK.?

Fredrickson, B.L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions.?American Psychologist, 56, 218-226.?

Hamilton, D. (2019).?The Little Book of Kindness. Gaia Books: London.?

Jandial, R. (2019).?Life?Lessons from a Brain Surgeon: The New Science and Stories of the Brain. Penguin Books: UK.?

Lyubmoirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E., (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success??Psychological Bulletin, 131, 803-855.?