{"id":1935,"date":"2013-05-11T21:44:33","date_gmt":"2013-05-11T21:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/?p=520"},"modified":"2013-05-11T21:44:33","modified_gmt":"2013-05-11T21:44:33","slug":"success-should-be-the-product-of-happiness-not-the-other-way-around","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/success-should-be-the-product-of-happiness-not-the-other-way-around\/","title":{"rendered":"Success Should be the Product of Happiness – Not the Other Way Around"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shawn Achor, CEO of Good Think and Author of The Happiness Advantage<\/em>, thinks companies might have their view of success a little mixed up.\u00a0 We live in a society where reaching success simply means to start reaching higher.\u00a0 You made good grades?\u00a0 Now get better grades.\u00a0 You got a good job?\u00a0 Now get a better job!\u00a0 You made your sales quota?\u00a0 Good for you, we are doubling it.\u00a0 The problem with this is that our brains never really get to enjoy success.\u00a0 The belief is that if we work hard then we will be successful, and if we are successful, only then will we be happy.\u00a0 This view is flawed, and in fact we are more successful when we aim to be happy first.<\/p>\n

Shawn notes that during his time studying students at Harvard University, he noticed that within two weeks of being there, the students had lost all excitement of getting into Harvard.\u00a0 They were overcome by stress, competition, and the overall burden of schooling at the prestigious university, including students with scholarships.\u00a0 You wouldn’t think they would have much to be upset about, some getting a free education at an exceptional school, but happiness actually has very little to do with our external world.\u00a0 Only 10% of our happiness comes from the external world, 90% of our long term happiness comes from how we view the world.\u00a0 As Shawn says, “It\u2019s the lens through which your brain views the world that shapes your reality. And if we can change the lens, not only can we change your happiness, we can change every single educational and business outcome at the same time.”<\/p>\n

So where does this come into business?\u00a0 Turns out only 25% of job successes are attributed to IQ.\u00a0 75% of them are based on happiness, social support, and seeing stress as a challenge instead of a problem.\u00a0 Happiness has a bigger impact on your job performance than you realize.\u00a0 I won’t say that it is better to hire a happy person or a smart person, but a positive brain has higher intelligence, creativity, and energy level than a neutral, negative, or stressed brain.\u00a0 In fact, a happy brain is 31% more productive than a negative or stressed brain.\u00a0 Happy brains are also 37% more effective at sales, and happy doctors are 19% more accurate when diagnosing illnesses on patients.\u00a0 The brain releases Dopamine when it is happy, which beyond making you feel good, also opens up all of your learning centers, allowing you to better adapt to situations and react accordingly.<\/p>\n

So let’s assume you are with me to this point, and you want to change your patterns.\u00a0 There are a few steps you can do to help improve on your happiness.<\/p>\n