Shawn Achor on happiness as a competitive advantage
Happiness and positive psychology expert Shawn Achor talked about his research of (mostly unhappy) Harvard students. Achor’s research indicates that only ten percent of our happiness is shaped by our external world; ninety percent is influenced by our internal perspective. In studying high-achieving Harvard students, Achor realized that one common mistake we make is thinking that achieving our goals (be it losing ten pounds or getting a promotion) will make us happier. This doesn’t work because once we’ve accomplished our goal, the target moves and we find ourselves dissatisfied again. We need to flip the formula around – create happiness here and now because that is what will help us achieve our goals. Organizations are uniquely positioned to intervene on their workers’ behalf to make them happier and the result will be more productive, more resilient and, yes, happier, employees.
