We can’t control what the day throws at us, but we can control how we react.
Easier said than done? It doesn’t have to be, says Harvard-trained happiness researcher Shawn Achor, also the New York Times best-selling author of The Happiness Advantage.
“If you can raise somebody’s level of positivity in the present, then their brain experiences what we now call a happiness advantage,” says Shawn.
“Your brain at positive performs significantly better than at negative, neutral, or stressed. Your intelligence rises, your creativity rises, your energy levels rise.”
That also means that a more positive brain gives you a competitive advantage at work. Shawn says the brain at this state can make you 31 percent more productive.
So how do we get into this happiness state all day long? All you need is to set aside 23 minutes each morning and follow his five easy steps below – some of it you can even do over breakfast.
By doing these activities every morning, you’re training your brain to be positive for the rest of the day. Your brain will release dopamine and create a positive mindset for the long term.
1. Write down 3 acts of gratitude
What three new things are you grateful for? Write it down. For long-term effect, Shawn says do it for 21 straight days. He says the reason this is so powerful is you’re training your mind to scan for positives instead of negatives. This activity is the fastest way to teach optimism. It will significantly improve your optimism even six months later, and raises your success rates significantly.
Time length: 2 minutes.
2. Journal 1 positive experience
Write in detail about one positive experience you’ve had during the past 24 hours. Bullet point each detail you can remember. According to Shawn, this allows your brain to relive the experience, which teaches your brain that the positive behavior matters. It works, he says, since the brain can’t tell the difference between visualisation and actual experience.
If you do this ritual every morning for 21 days, your brain reprograms with this trajectory of meaning running throughout your life.
Time length: 2 minutes.
3. Exercise
Even if you hate lacing up the running shoes, Shawn says that a short burst of fun cardio activity works wonders. The reason why exercise is so key to your morning routine is that it literally trains your brain to believe “my behavior matters,” which then carries (positively) into other activities throughout the day.
Time length: 15 minutes.
4. Meditate
Breathe and watch your breath go in and out for two minutes. This allows your brain to focus on one thing at a time and be present in the moment. Shawn says it will “raise accuracy rates, improve levels of happiness, and drop stress levels.”
Time length: 2 minutes.
5. Express kindness through a text or email
The most important of the five: Write a positive email or text every morning praising or thanking someone you know. And do it for a different person each day. Achor says people who do this become known as positive leaders with strong social connections–the greatest predictor of long-term happiness.
Time length: 2 minutes.
