Happiness Leads to Success

Hi guys, so I honestly have never heard of positive psychology until I read Happiness Advantage. Basically it’s a new field of applied psychology that has researched and tested various principles which overall showed that people perform better at work as they raised their level of happiness. Their research showed that no matter how old you are, it’s possible to change your behavior by the modification of even the simplest part of your life. I personally chose this book because after watching the video that Ms. Fletcher showed us, I was interested in how I can change my outlook on life, be happy, and become more productive. I realized that these past few years, I haven't exactly been happy with myself and school in general. I love learning but I don't love the stress that I am constantly under because it drives me crazy and makes me just want to give up and not work. I agree with a comment Sarah made earlier that you have to find balance in your life. You cant always be stressed and working but you can't also be carefree all the time.

 

While the Happiness Advantage certainly made me see things differently, I began to realize that it’s harder to actually do than just say. It’s difficult to be positive when our environment and society is pretty negative, and optimistic people are probably endangered species. My only request for you, my fellow peers, is to start thinking more positively so we can spread it like wildfire and be happy because according to this book, how we behave and act greatly influences each other.

Anyway, The Happiness Advantage principle calls for us to retrain our brains to focus on the positive side of things which can then help us by improving our productivity and performance. Another is called The Fulcrum and the Lever that states that with the movement of our fulcrum (mindset) in the right way, we can exert more power when moving the lever (our potential power and possibility we think we have. The Tetris Effect explains that we are able to train our brains to look for positive patterns and seize opportunities whenever possible. My favorite one is probably the 20-Second Rule because it reminded me that smaller tasks that are easier to achieve is a great place  to start when one is trying to begin a habit.

Overall, I do not regret choosing this book because I enjoyed it and it has taught me many valuable lessons that would definitely help me to become a better student and a better person who has a generally positive vibe and does work effectively. I guess the real success in life isn’t what your house or job is someday, it’s about how you lived it and whether you were genuinely happy. Thank you for your time. (: