Be Happy

By Andrea GroenewaldMay 13, 2011

Revera Inc.

Wish #1: Wealth or Happiness

Wealth Happiness0

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Wish #2: Success or Happiness

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Wish #3: Fame or Happiness

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Wish #4: Status or Happiness

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Wish #5: Attractiveness or Happiness

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Wish #6: Sex or Happiness

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Wish #7: Health or Happiness

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Wish #8: Enlightenment or Happiness

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Wish #9: Authenticity or Happiness

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Wish #10: Love or Happiness

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Study conducted in 2003 (Diener & Oishi)

Researchers interviewed 9,000 people on the importance of happiness

against values such as health, wealth & attractiveness. Happiness came

first, even beating out heaven by 13%.

Happiness is a Universally accepted Goal!

In other research we learn that Happiness leads to: Higher Income

Superior work outcomes including increased productivity & higher quality of work

More satisfying and longer marriages

Happiness also Leads To: More friends, stronger social support &

richer social interactions

More energy, increased activity and flow

Better physical health including a bolstered immune system, lowered stress levels & less pain

Longer life

Even inspires people to want to serve & benefit other

What makes us Happy?

• Self Knowledge & Acceptance

• Having a Purpose for your Life

• Being part of Something Bigger than Yourself

• Living according to your Core Values (Authenticity)

• Healthy Relationships (Love)

• Laughter – Norman Cousins, 1977

• Thankfulness & Gratitude

Barriers To Happiness

1. Spoiled Child Syndrome2. Mental Filter & Overgeneralizing3. Unrealistic Expectations4. Taking things Personally5. Reacting to people & situations rather

than responding6. All or Nothing Viewpoint

Happiness in the Workplace

Five Alarm Bulletin:

The Workplace has Changed!

Landscape of the (new) Workplace

• On average, workers will spend 90,000 hours over the course of their life, working

• Due to current economic realities, workers are expected to have higher productivity and output, with less resources

• Stress is at an all time high

• Clinical depression & anxiety is costing Companies & Government billions of dollars

Predictors of Happiness in the Workplace How much you Enjoy your job

Feeling your work has a Purpose - Ms. Emily Groenewald

Confidence in your ability to do your job

Matching of Personal Values with Corporate Values

Trust in your Employer & Direct Reports

Recognition & Appreciation for your work

More Predictors of Happiness in the Workplace

Your ability to Manage Stress – 80% of physical illnesses are caused by stress

Your ability to Manage your Thoughts and Attitudes

Managing Stress Satisfiers

Relaxation Techniques

Coping with Uncertainty – WW II study

Distinguishing between what you can

change and what needs to be managed

Stop Labelling – Srikumer Rao

Great minds manage their Thoughts

“A man is what he thinks about all day long.”

~Emerson~

“We become what we think about”

~Earl Nightengale~

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude of mind”~William James~

Conclusion: We can change the way we feel and experience life &

work by changing the way we think!

What if we could create our own Happiness?

“I am the happiest man alive. I have that in me that can convert

poverty to riches, adversity to prosperity, and I am more

vulnerable than Achilles; fortune hath not one place to hit me.”

~Sir Thomas Brown~

We can Synthesize our own Happiness

• Experience Simulator in Prefrontal Cortex (Ice Cream Flavours/Lottery)

• The Impact Bias, “the tendency to overestimate the hedonic impact of future events.” (Purchases)

Synthesized Happiness

Harvard’s, Dan Gilbert’s Research using the “Free Choice Paradigm.”

• Monet Prints

• Monet Prints with amnesia patients

They change their hedonic reaction, not just perception or rationalization!

Examples of Synthesized Happiness

“I don’t have one minute regret. It was a glorious experience.”

Moreese Beckham – Upon release of 37 years confined to a Louisiana Prison for a crime he was exonerated from based on DNA evidence

“I believe it turned out for the best.”

Harry S. Langerman – turned down a MacDonald’s Franchise because his

brother wouldn’t lend him the $3,000 stating, “You idiot, no one eats

hamburgers.” Two months later, Ray Crock bought the franchise and became

the wealthiest man in America.

“I’m happier than I would have been with the Beatles.”

Pete Best, original drummer for the Beatles who was ‘abandoned’ by

them without any notice.

“I’ve been able to enjoy love and relationships at a deeper level than

ever before.”

Shania Twain – After the double betrayal of her music producer & husband having an affair with her

best friend & confident

“I am the happiest man alive. I have that in me that can convert

poverty to riches, adversity to prosperity, and I am more

vulnerable than Achilles; fortune hath not one place to hit me.”

~Sir Thomas Brown~

“There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

~William Shakespeare~

I don’t wholeheartedly agree with Shakepeare’s quote but we can see

from the research that how and what we think about, especially as we rehearse or create scenarios in

our minds, clearly affects our mood, our stress levels, our attitudes and will ultimately affect our behaviour.