Why Your Career Needs You to Be Happy

You remember that old potato chip commercial that challenges snackers with the line, “I betcha can’t eat just one?” (Funny how times change. These days of healthier eating, that campaign would be received as a cautionary tale. But boy, that line sure does stick in our memory, doesn’t it?)?

Well, that’s how I feel with TED talks.? Last week, I dipped into the most popular TED talks with the intention of just watching maybe two or three. I’m preparing for my own TEDx talk, and I wanted to see how the best presenters and experts create their own. ?As Tony Robbins says, “Success leaves clues.” And I want to do a great job for my audience.

Anyway, one TED talk led to another. And the next thing I knew, it was Sunday night already. I had been snacking on other people’s smarts all weekend long. Where did the time go?

?Even with two days’ array of fabulous presentations, I had my stand-out favorite. Shawn Achor’s presentation, The Happy Secret to Better Work. You may know who he is: New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Advantage and Big Potential. He is one of the world’s leading experts on the connection between happiness and success. So he has a lot of good things to contribute to the conversation around how the right frame of mind contributes to success.

?“Wait a minute,” you might be saying to yourself, “Isn’t this series about self-acceptance?” Well, yeah, but I ask you this: Who do you know who is happy but who struggles with self-acceptance? Happiness and self-acceptance go hand in hand, wouldn’t you agree?

So I jotted down some notes from his talk:

While 25% of job success is predicted by IQ, his research tells us that 75% is predicted by our optimism levels, our social support system, and our ability to see stress as a challenge instead of a threat.

90% of long-term success is predicted not by the outside world but by the way our brains process our experience of the world.

A brain that is mostly positive experiences career advantages by boosted intelligence, creativity and energy.

Likewise, he says, businesses benefit from having employees who are oriented toward the positive mindset:

The job opportunities are better and more secure.

Employers report less turnover.

Employees are more productive.

Employees are more resilient.

They experience less burnout.

Even sales records improve.

But what if you’re more of a negative thinker than a positive, optimistic one? Achor has an answer for that too! He says that if you commit to these five daily rituals over a 21 day period of time, you will see improvements in your mindset. And, so, it would stand to reason, your self-acceptance, and maybe even your ultimate career trajectory. Here they are:

List three things you’re grateful for every day.

Keep a journal and commit to noting at least one positive experience every day.

Exercise every day.

Meditate.

Practice at least one random act of kindness every day.

?The benefits of these habits are obvious. But here’s one that might not have occurred to you: Each one of these is within your power to do. Positivity and optimism are founded on the fundamental belief that you have the power to choose the actions essential to making the changes that you desire.

That’s not so hard, is it?