Motivational Monday: Happiness & Success

The scientific evidence is in, and it is conclusive. If you want to be more successful you need to prime your brain to be positive.

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➣ That’s right. Happiness must come before success. Staying stuck in a negative rut, dwelling on problems versus being solution oriented will not help you succeed, and it will contribute to what the World Health Organization tells us will be the major cause of disability by 2020—stress, negativity, disengagement.

➣ What exactly does brain science tell us? Most of us were trained to think that success leads to happiness. We now know, through neuroimaging and other longitudinal scientific studies, that achieving success in a rapidly changing and often chaotic world, workplace and marketplace demands a whole new skill set.

Here are

ten simple steps that take only a few minutes a day and will help prime your brain to be success oriented.

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1. Talk nice to yourself! Celebrate every win in your mind’s eye no matter how small. Pay attention to the positive.

2. Connect, get social. Talk to people you care about; talk to people you work with. Make social connections.

3. Hug. Hugs stimulate oxytocin, the “love hormone,” spreading a feel-good boost.

4. Make love. Yes, it’s no surprise that lovemaking boosts happiness levels!

5. Keep a gratitude journal. Writing about what you are thankful for both helps retrain your brain to be more optimistic and positively impacts your health!

6. Get physical. Physical activity is a significant happiness booster. Exercising for 30 minutes a day can take up to 7 years off your chronological age! And, it eases stress, improves sleep, strengthens immunity, and increases happiness.

7. Help others. Altruism makes us happier and stronger. Volunteer at a soup kitchen, hospital, or shelter.

8. Go outside, spend time with Mother Nature. It will make you feel more alert, enthusiastic, energetic, and happy.

9. Take two minutes or less to be mindful! If you don’t meditate regularly, spend a few minutes several times a day being mindful of your breathing.

10. Get silly, embrace the kid in you. Enjoy a good joke, watch a funny video, smile, enjoy a great comedy. Laughing is a great way to exercise your brain and give your body a mini aerobic workout!

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.  Priming your brain to be positive will help you achieve greater success and well-being. It is time to win the most important war we face; a silent war that is eroding purpose, potential and sustainability every day.  The World Health Organization says that anxiety and depression will be the leading cause of physical disability in the world by 2020. If you are not unhappy, and if your potential is not being limited, someone you know, work for, lead or love is stuck in a rut, a thinking rut, an emotional rut that can destroy their life.  Read about winning the silent war before us.