We believe we should work hard in order to be happy, but could we be thinking about things backwards? In this fast-moving and very funny talk, psychologist Shawn Achor argues that, actually, happiness inspires us to be more productive.
I believe when Friday comes around, all of the sudden, our mood drastically changes. Most of us probably aware about the reason why? Friday is the end of the workday and the beginning of the weekend in most Western countries in the world. However, Most of the Middle Eastern countries and some other predominantly Muslim countries used to consider Thursday and Friday as their weekend. Since most of us are not living in Middle Eastern countries, Friday is correlated to the beginning of holiday weekend. Although it sounds normal for us to look forward to the weekend, but the opposite story is true. It does mean that we are not enjoying our work. Therefore, we want to enjoy our weekend as soon as possible.
I remember once my friend told me that the only thing that motivates him to come to work every week, is knowing that there would be Friday by the end of each week. It sounds funny, but it is especially true for all of us. Sometimes people trap on the job situation that they really hate. However, since they still need money for living, they have to keep their un-fulfilling job just for the sake of money.
The bottom line is that many people are not aware that this situation will affect their mental health in the long run. As mentally unhealthy, they will soon experience the boredom at their workplace. This boredom sooner or later will affect their productivity at work. The low productivity will affect the sense of fulfillment of their entire life. By the end of the day, people most likely lose their motivation in life which’s caused by mental illness, including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and others, may cause suicide.
Did you know that:
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US for all ages. There is one death by suicide in the US every 12.3 minutes. Depression affects 20–25% of Americans ages 18+ in a given year. (CDC)
Aside from mental illness that’s caused by the work situation that forces us to work against our will, the information surrounding us nowadays is not positive and full of negativity. Most of it’s about murder, corruption, diseases, natural disasters. And very quickly, our brain starts to think that’s the accurate ratio of negative to positive in the world. This creates “the medical school syndrome.” During the first year of medical training, as you read through a list of all the symptoms and diseases, suddenly you realize you have all of them.
As Shawn Achor mentions on his TEDxBloomington talk, “If you can raise somebody’s level of positivity in the present, then their brain experiences what we now call a happiness advantage, which is your brain at positive performs significantly better than at negative, neutral or stressed. Your intelligence rises, your creativity rises, your energy levels rise. In fact, we’ve found that every single business outcome improves. Your brain at positive is 31% more productive than your brain at negative, neutral or stressed. You’re 37% better at sales. Doctors are 19 percent faster, more accurate at coming up with the correct diagnosiswhen positive instead of negative, neutral or stressed.
Which means we can reverse the formula. If we can find a way of becoming positive in the present,then our brains work even more successfully as we’re able to work harder, faster and more intelligently. We need to be able to reverse this formula so we can start to see what our brains are actually capable of. Because dopamine, which floods into your system when you’re positive, has two functions. Not only does it make you happier, it turns on all of the learning centers in your brain allowing you to adapt to the world in a different way.”
Here are some tips from Shawn Achor to increase the level of happiness in your life:
Journaling about one positive experience you’ve had over the past 24 hours allows your brain to relive it. Exercise teaches your brain that your behavior matters. We find that meditation allows your brain to get over the cultural ADHD that we’ve been creating by trying to do multiple tasks at once and allows our brains to focus on the task at hand. And finally, random acts of kindness are conscious acts of kindness. We get people, when they open up their inbox, to write one positive email praising or thanking somebody in their support network.
In the nutshell, we must start questioning our working motivation and something that inspires us each and every single day. Why are we still working in the company that we are working for ? Believe it or now, this simple question will help you in the long run. When you wake up in the morning, you have the reason why you have to go back to work and do what you have to do. I do believe it will absolutely change the way you look at Friday forever.
Happy Friday is not only for enjoying time with your friends and family, but also preparing you for an exciting Monday up to the following weekend that yet to come. Happy Friday and Happy Everyday!!!