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…
How Asking for Help is a Sign of Strength & Humility Success Magazine, Shawn Achor February 2016 My senior year of high school, I decided to become a volunteer firefighter. In order to do so, I had to complete 90 hours of training, plus a final test called the Fire Maze. The objective was simple: Rescue…
How (and why) to Give the Perfect Gift Success Magazine, Shawn Achor December 21, 2015 We’ve reaped phenomenal results in researching the power of giving, and the results may seem counterintuitive to the field of positive psychology. We’ve known that social connection is the greatest predictor of happiness—measured by how people rate the quality of their…
3 Secrets to Happiness this Holiday Live Happy Magazine, Shawn Achor & Michelle Gielan November 2015 Expectations and stress seem to increase over the holidays, especially in the weeks leading up to them. We need to make the perfect meals, wear the perfect clothes and, of course, get the perfect gifts. But while it is easy to…
The Science of a Smile Success Magazine, Shawn Achor November 2015 When people complain, their facial expressions become scrunched and anxious. When we feel threatened by a negative family member or co-worker, our faces usually reflect exactly what we are trying to reject. Want people around you to be more positive? Check your face first. Emotions…
Why You Need Positive People in Your Life Success Magazine, Shawn Achor August 24, 2015 One big mistake people make is not realizing that happiness is an individual choice. But every choice is influenced by the people in our lives. If you change your life influencers for the better, you can dramatically increase your chances for happiness…
As a leader, influence your team toward a positive reality by enlisting help from within. Being a leader, you need to understand how to influence your people. As I describe in my book Before Happiness, one of the most powerful ways to share a positive message is to recruit other people to spread it. A colleague,…
Do you feel like life comes at you too quickly to respond in the way you want? Your ability to respond to an ever-changing world is predicted by how big a paddle you think you have. Let me explain. Pong, one of the oldest video games, is a primitive game of virtual pingpong—you control a…
Improve Productivity and Success with Five “Positivity” Habits Nano Tools for Leaders® are fast, effective leadership tools that you can learn and start using in less than 15 minutes — with the potential to significantly impact your success as a leader and the engagement and productivity of the people you lead. Contributor: Shawn Achor, expert on the…
Holiday Cheer: Small steps can bring a little more joy to the world. Shawn Achor History offers some dramatic examples of how the human brain is designed for emotional contagion. Perhaps the craziest on record is the Dancing Plague of 1518. It reportedly began when a woman, Frau Troffea, started dancing in the streets of Strasbourg,…