Shawn Achor is a pretty entertaining speaker. Here are some of my takeaways from this TEDTalk.
1. No matter how happy you were on your past successes, the joy fades away within a week. How many time have this happened to you? Every time you get a raise, or a new gadget, or a new car... how long does that joy last you? Perhaps a week, maybe less.
2. The external world is not a good predictor of your happiness. Simply put, people aren't happy because of the environment they are in. People are happy because of internal reasons.
3. Society functions on the assumption that the harder you work, the more successful you'll become. The more successful you are, the happier you are. This is wrong, but because people actually believe in that assumption, they find themselves working harder and hard, to become more and more successful, thinking that they will automatically become happy when they "get there".
Ironically, it is also this similar strive for perfection that leads to greatness, which is why it is critically important to have a cause that is greater than yourself, and to use your personal skills and passion towards that cause.
He ends the talk with a great 5-things-you-can-do, which does make some logical sense.
- Write down 3 new things that you are grateful for each day.
- Journaling down one positive experience
- Exercise
- Meditate
- Do a random act of kindness