Fueling Your Fire... the gift that keeps on giving!
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Happiness Assessments
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Check out the number of free personal assessments offered through Dr. Martin Seligman's Authentic Happiness Web site:
Authentic Happiness
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Is Happiness Irresponsible?
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Happiness is for kids (and for those irresponsible adults who eternally act like kids). Responsible business leaders are serious and focused. While happiness is a great idea for your "spare time," it has no place amidst your impressive business pursuits. And, besides, who would take a joyful business leader seriously anyway?
It's true--happiness has no place on your professional development plan. Despite the fact that happy people tend to(1):
- Earn more money
- Be more productive
- Yield stronger performance evaluations
- Have stronger social networks
- Live longer
- Get sick less often and suffer from fewer chronic diseases
Hmmmm... Maybe some of those "irresponsible adults who eternally act like kids" might be on to something... |
How Happy Are You?
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Martin Seligman is considered one of the leaders of positive psychology-the realm of psychology that explores the crucial question, "what is going right for people?"
The following General Happiness Scale is from his book, Authentic Happiness.
For each of the statements identify the number on the point scale 1 - 7 (where 1 = "Not a very happy person" and 7 = "A very happy person") you think is most appropriate in describing you:
- In general, I consider myself... (select score 1 - 7)
- Compared to most of my peers, I consider myself...
- Some people are generally very happy. They enjoy life regardless of what is going on, getting the most out of everything. To what extent does that characterization describe you?
- Some people are generally not very happy. Although they are not depressed, they never seem as happy as they might be. To what extend does this chacterization describe you?
Total your score and divide by four. The mean for adult Americans is 4.8.
How do you compare?
Is it time to add
"Pursue Greater General Happiness"
to your 2008 professional goals? |
Cultivating Happiness
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As every good business leader knows, if a goal is going to be achieved, it needs some specific objectives to support it. Here are some ideas for increasing overall happiness:
- Nurture social relationships. Strong social networks are highly correlated to happiness. If you do nothing else, do this one.
- Pursue well-being, not being well off. Money itself is only marginally associated with happiness.
- Keep a gratitude journal. This helps you focus on all that is going right.
- Get into the flow. Do things you are passionate about. If you lose track of time when you're doing it, that's a good sign that you're in the flow.
- Complete tasks. If something is important, get it done. If it's not, take it off the list.
- Volunteer. Give the gift of your time and skills to a cause that matters to you.
- Connect with your spirituality. Connection to a higher power helps to support life purpose and give perspective on life circumstances.
- Savor simple pleasures. Love the smell of fresh ground coffee in the morning? Savor it.
- Thank somebody. Has someone made a difference to you? Pass on the love and let them know.
- Forgive. Anger and happiness can't occupy the same space. Let it go.
Is it possible that increasing your overall happiness might actually give you a competitive edge? Now that's crazy talk.
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P.S.... Happiness and Health
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While research has shown that health (objectively speaking) does not equate to happiness, it has also shown that one's perception of one's own health does impact happiness, and, not surprisingly, happiness is correlated with increased health.
Is there any reason not to pursue happiness??
Reference:
1) "The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success?" by S. Lyubomirsky, L. King, and E. Diener, 2005, Psychological Bulletin, 131, pp. 803-855.
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