Raising people’s level of positivity creates a ‘happiness advantage.’

by: Jeffrey DeWolf

“When I’m worried and I can’t sleep, I count my blessings instead of sheep… and I fall asleep, counting my blessings.”

Can you hear the smooth baritone voice of Bing Crosby singing those lyrics? (If you can’t, do yourself a favor and add the watching of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” to your holiday tradition list.)

It’s about happiness
Upon hearing about my interest in the construct of “Job Happiness,” a friend recommended a short video by Shawn Achor called The Happiness Advantage. (I was viewer #589,082 so it must be good.)

At minute 10 in that video he says:

“If you can raise somebody’s level of positivity in the present, then their brain experiences what we now call a happiness advantage.

“Which is: your brain at positive, performs significantly better than it does at negative, neutral, or stressed. Your intelligence rises, your creativity rises, your energy levels rise. In fact we found that every single business outcome improves. Your brain at positive is 31% more productive than your brain at negative, neutral or stressed.” (Emphasis mine.)

continue reading »