Happiness was the focus for today’s TED O’clock, as we showed Shawn Achor’s talk titled, “The Happy Secret to Better Work.” Thank you, Eric, for your suggestion to watch this talk! The overall idea presented is to change the “normal” thought process of “working hard leading to success which leads to happiness (which is does not, as what is considered success constantly changes in this model).” Instead, people need to focus on happiness first, as doing so leads to increased intelligence, creativity, and energy levels (among many other positive things), which leads to even better success. There are simple things we can all do to increase our happiness, whether it be at work or home, including: writing out three things we are grateful for each day, journaling about one positive experience each day, exercise, meditation, and random/conscious acts of kindness.
Afterward, the group talked about defining what success means for each of us as individuals, as well as setting expectations for ourselves and others that meet reality. If we are trying to live our lives by meeting what others set as the ideals for success (big house, big job, fancy car, etc.), it sets us up for unhappiness.
Thanks to everyone who came to today’s TED O’clock. As always, if you have an idea or suggestion for another TED talk we can watch, please be sure to share it. If you’d like to lead the discussion as well, I would very much support that, too!
ITS:Always fun, never boring
Respectfully submitted,
Linda Petro
