Better's Blinkist

What’s in it for me? Discover the secret to happiness and success.

In fact, happiness – far from being the result of all your hard work – is actually one of the tools you can use to increase your performance, and thus your quality of life.

23 April, 2019 01:29 Share

Traditional psychology focuses on the negatives without seeing the positives.

traditional psychology aims to bring people back up to what is considered the average level of happiness or fulfillment.

23 April, 2019 01:33 Share

the problem with this approach is that, in our obsession with averages, we ultimately can’t move beyond that point into excellence. By improving only in the areas where you are lacking, you miss out on opportunities to surpass the average.

23 April, 2019 01:33 Share

This is important, because one student who isn’t depressed is also the one who’s most likely to succeed – both in school and later at work.

23 April, 2019 01:34 Share

Positive psychology investigates what it is that makes people excel, with the ultimate goal of applying that knowledge and thereby raising the average.

23 April, 2019 01:34 Share

After living among Harvard students for 12 years and traveling all over the world trying to figure out what lifts people above average, the author found that successful people are successful because of their specific interpretation of reality.

23 April, 2019 01:35 Share

his experience of students in Soweto, South Africa revealed the vast majority to be delighted with their studies as they saw schoolwork as a challenge and a privilege

23 April, 2019 01:35 Share

Success revolves around happiness, not the other way around.

the truth is that happiness is highly subjective, relative to the individual experiencing it

25 April, 2019 10:49 Share

when we feel good and have a positive mindset, we are smarter, feel more motivated and enjoy more success

25 April, 2019 10:49 Share

In terms of neurobiology, this is quite obvious. When we experience positive emotions, our brains become flooded with dopamine and serotonin – chemicals that both make us feel good and boost the parts of our brains responsible for learning by organizing new information, retaining it and more efficiently recalling it later on

25 April, 2019 10:50 Share

happiness leads to success in nearly every domain of our lives – from relationships to jobs, health and creativity.

25 April, 2019 10:50 Share

seven principles you can adopt to increase your happiness and thus your performance and success.

25 April, 2019 10:50 Share

The "Happiness Advantage" will give you a performance edge.

Researchers found that those who started out happier also ended up receiving better evaluations and higher pay later on.

25 April, 2019 10:51 Share

Researchers found that those who started out happier also ended up receiving better evaluations and higher pay later on.

25 April, 2019 10:51 Share

Interestingly, these successful people don’t see happiness as a reward for their hard work and accomplishments. Rather, they are successful precisely because of their positive mindsets, which allow them to make the most of their lives.

25 April, 2019 10:52 Share

the truth is that anyone can achieve the Happiness Advantage. It’s simply a matter of attitude and consistency.

25 April, 2019 10:53 Share

showing appreciation for the small crumbs of positivity scattered throughout life. These include things like short but pleasant conversations with friends or even watching a funny video.

25 April, 2019 10:53 Share

research shows that the brains of monks who spend years meditating tend to exhibit growth in the prefrontal cortex – the part of the brain responsible for feeling happy.

25 April, 2019 10:53 Share

Research shows that the most enjoyable part of an activity is not the activity itself, but the anticipation. So, just thinking about your next vacation can raise your endorphin levels by 27 percent.

25 April, 2019 10:54 Share

Enhance your performance by enhancing your mindset.

You can take advantage of the fact that your brain’s resources are limited. Your brain has to decide whether to allocate its resources towards experiencing pain, negativity and stress or using those same resources to experience things like hope, optimism and meaning

9 June, 2019 08:21 Share

When they were then tested in physical strength, posture, perception, cognition and short-term memory, the majority of participants improved in every category! In essence, by changing their mindset, they changed their ability to perform. The same thing occurs with happiness: having a positive mindset can lead to true happiness and increased performance. Indeed, the more you believe in your ability to succeed, the more likely that you will.

9 June, 2019 08:22 Share

Train your brain to look for the positive over the negative.

This obsession is now known as the Tetris effect. This effect comes in two variations: The first is the negative Tetris effect. This occurs when your brain gets stuck in patterns that hurt your chances at success. For instance, tax auditors, whose work focuses around finding mistakes, have the tendency to only see the weaknesses in their colleagues rather than their strengths. This contrasts with the positive Tetris effect, whereby your brain has been trained to look for opportunities that increase success. Basically, the more positivity your brain experiences, the more optimistic you will become. You should therefore actively seek positive experiences, as studies have shown that optimistic people set more difficult goals and put in more effort to attaining those goals than their pessimistic counterparts.

9 June, 2019 08:23 Share

Fall up by turning negative momentum into positive momentum.

After a crisis or adversity, your mind follows one of three paths: • The negative event produces no change, and you end where you started. • Further negative consequences. You end up worse after the event; this path is why we are afraid of conflict and challenge • The Third Path: use adversity and failure to become even stronger and more capable than before. Finding the Third Path is the difference between those who become frozen by failure and those who surge above it. This is because people are not defined by the events that happen to them, but rather what they are able to produce from those events.

9 June, 2019 08:26 Share

Gaining control and focusing on little changes is how you can make the greatest improvements.

One way is to put your negative emotions into words. Write down what you’re feeling, or talk about it with someone you trust. Brain scans show that putting your negative emotions into words diminishes their power, and is ultimately the first step in regaining control. At this point, you can push forward by concentrating on small goals. As you accumulate resources, knowledge and confidence, you’ll be able to accomplish even greater goals.

9 June, 2019 08:28 Share

Willpower alone cannot affect change – instead, try to minimize barriers and form good habits.

So how do we establish – and sustain – good habits? It all boils down to reducing activation energy, the physical and mental energy needed to overcome inaction. What does activation energy look like in action? Think about the writing exercise from our previous blink, in which you make a list of positive things that have happened to you in the last 24 hours. You can reduce your activation energy by keeping an open notebook and a pen on your nightstand. If you want to get better at guitar, buy a guitar stand so you won’t complain about having to take it out of the closet and out of the case to start playing. Or hide your pack of cigarettes from yourself if you want to smoke less. These are simple, 20-second changes, but they can make a huge difference in your lifestyle.

9 June, 2019 08:31 Share

Social support is one of your greatest assets.

Successful people, however, know that their social relationships are valuable investment. Social interactions fill us with positivity, and as we strengthen our relationships over time, we raise our happiness baseline. For instance, at the office, your team will see better results when more team members invest in social unity. Even the tiniest interactions around the water cooler can trigger happiness.

9 June, 2019 08:31 Share

some leaders believe that they don’t have time for socializing with their employees, that they’ll lose authority or that there should be a clear distinction between work and friendship. But research at MIT has found that employees with strong bonds with their managers produce more profit than those with weaker bonds. So, if you’re in a position of leadership, take the time to introduce new members of your team to everyone – even to different departments – or do things like scheduling team lunches. Most importantly: show gratitude. This is the most effective way to create bonds, so take time in the day to recognize someone for their accomplishments. Make sure this recognition is personal and especially in front of others if possible, like at a monthly meeting.

9 June, 2019 08:32 Share

You have the power to share your happiness with the world.

Neuroscience explains this unconscious adoption of behavior with mirror neurons. These cause you to imitate the behavior of others or experience what you believe they’re experiencing. For instance, when you see someone on TV hit their knee, you immediately cringe and grab yours as if you were in pain. The same thing applies for your mindset: if you feel anxious or otherwise negative, it’s likely that this will cause your colleagues to feel the same way. Of course the opposite is true as well: the happier you are, the happier everyone around you will be.

9 June, 2019 08:33 Share