7 Ways To Be Happier At Work
A recent report listed the happiest nations in the world. Guess what? The US didn’t even make it into the top ten. So much for the American dream.
Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert argues that we can train our minds to be happier.
1. Smile. Turns out, smiling is directly linked to happiness. It may have started as a correlation but, over time, the brain linked the two. Don’t believe me? Try this: smile (a nice big smile) and attempt to think of something negative. Either you will stop smiling or you won’t be able to hold the negative thought.
2. Stop worrying. Worrying happens to be one of humanity’s best traits. It is the underlying emotion behind foresight, planning, and forecasting. We worry because some future event is uncertain and that feeling is a cue for us to start thinking about how to address it. The problem is, we worry too much about things that are out of our control (like the economy, stupid).
3. Take a break. The US is one of the most overworked industrialized nations. But this is counterproductive for a nation of “knowledge workers.” Overworking people to exhaustion is a horrible way to extract knowledge from people. Taking a break provides an opportunity to reflect and often it is during such times when the best ideas, our deepest insights, emerge.
Go here for 4 more tips.
What are your tips for being happier at work?
Photo by jaylopez.
Jaclyn on June 16th, 2009 5:45 pm
Smiling does help improve everyones mood. Think about it, would you rather someone come walking up to you at work wearing a smile or a frown on their face? And as i’ve always said, worrying about something is not going to better the situation by any means, all that will accomplish is it will make you feel worse, more depressed and stress out over possibly nothing in the end, so why worry? granted, we all do it from time to time, but cutting it down drastically will better your mentality and help you stay healthier in the long run.
RedHotFranchises on June 17th, 2009 3:24 am
Great tips to stay motivated. What I do is look forward to every morning and thinking a great day ahead,So when ever I feel low I regain my energy though visualizing a great day.
Franchise Opportunities on June 17th, 2009 6:41 am
A smile always lights up our day either under pressure or burdened with worries or problems. We must look on the brighter side of life. It doesn’t take much to put on a happy disposition in life. No matter how hard it takes, a laugh or a smile can change the mood around people.
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