You Have to See Your Happiness to Believe It Success Magazine, Shawn Achor January 13, 2017 Psychologists have long known that negative emotions narrow our thoughts and range of actions, which has served an important evolutionary purpose. In prehistoric times, if a saber-toothed tiger was running at you, fear and stress helped release chemicals that either prepared you…
You Can Improve Your Default Response to Stress Harvard Business Review, Michelle Gielan January 5, 2017 One morning while anchoring The Early Show in New York, one of my coanchors got mixed up and tossed the show to me five minutes before I was slated to appear for my next segment, which was covering breaking news on political…
How to Stay Informed With the News Without Getting Depressed Thrive Global, Michelle Gielan December 23, 2016 It was painful to watch, and I had a front row seat. From my post as an anchor at CBS News, I reported on people’s pain as they lost their jobs, homes and savings. The rapid-fire coverage of these problems…
How You Can Stay Forever Young Success Magazine, Shawn Achor December 16, 2016 If there is anything we thought we could be sure of, it’s that time moves in only one direction. That was the prevailing view anyway, right up until my mentor Ellen Langer proved it wrong with one brilliant stroke. In 1979, Langer designed a week-long…
3 Happiness Hacks to Savor the Holiday Season Live Happy, Amy Blankson November 1, 2016 Use technology to get more out of life, not distract you from it. Buy the groceries! Prep the turkey! Set the table! In the midst of the scurry to get ready for Thanksgiving, sometimes it can be difficult to just enjoy the moment…
How to Be Happier in Just 5 Minutes a Day Success Magazine, Shawn Achor October 14, 2016 Just as it takes practice to master a new skill, training your brain to notice positive things takes practice. The best way to kick-start this is to write down three good things that happen each day. The items don’t need to…
The Science of Friendship Success Magazine, Shawn Achor July 21, 2016 Our need for social support isn’t just in our heads. Evolutionary psychology explains that the innate need to form social bonds is wired into our biology. When we make a positive social connection, the pleasure-inducing hormone oxytocin is released into our bloodstream, immediately reducing anxiety…
Laugh Your Way to a Happy Workplace Success Magazine, Shawn Achor June 24, 2016 We are drawn to funny people. Researchers have discovered that humor is attractive not just in romantic partners, but in business partners and politicians as well because it is a sign of cognitive fitness. Your brain must be flexible and sharp to create…
Move Beyond the Problem Live Happy, Shawn Achor and Michelle Gielan June 10, 2016 Learn to stop ruminating and quickly get to a more positive place. Whenever anything went wrong in her life, our dear friend Samantha became a broken record, stuck playing the same refrain over and over. If a colleague criticized her work, she’d…
4 Types of Mental ‘Noise’ You Should Ignore Success Magazine, Shawn Achor May 23, 2016 In the working world, where we’re subjected to an endless stream of information, noise such as interruptions from co-workers or breaking news alerts on our phones can be particularly dangerous. If you attend to the noise, it will hijack your motivation…