The Happiness Advantage 2

The Happiness Advantage 2

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The Happiness Advantage 2

Summary:

        The second part of the book opens up discussing that On the Revolution of Celestial Spheres was published, in year 1543. Prior to be book being created many thought the world was the center of the universe, and once it was released many learned it was actually the sun in which everything revolved around. This ties into the current shift psychology is undergoing, which is understanding that happiness is not orbited around success. Now, however there is the understanding that when we are in a happy mood, and our mood and mindset is positive, we are smarter, more motivated, which makes us more successful individuals. It is now understood that Happiness is the center, and success revolves around it. Seligman then breaks down positive psych into three components which are pleasure, engagement, and meaning. The main engine of happiness is having positive emotions , since happiness is a feeling. Frederickson said that the most positive emotions are joy,gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe, and love. The first principle discussed is the Happiness Advantage at Work, and while discussing he expresses the importance of knowing that Correlation is not Causation. It also discusses that happiness is not a final product of success. Data had proved that happiness is what causes happiness, not vice versa. The book also discusses when doing a test to have someone think about the best day of their lives, it was proven that those people were found to do far better on the test than those who were not asked to do so. Another test was done where they had doctors have a lollipop with them while working, this was important because doctors had already been positively primed from candy. Those who analyzed symptoms and had the candy did better and figured out possible answers quicker. Next he book discusses the undoing effect which says that the more time that one spends going over something that is crucial or important, it could potentially cause disastrous effects. The book also talks about how to some positivity is a very natural thing. At one point in time scientists thought that happiness was a completely hereditary component, and later realized that we have far more control over our happiness. Some ways the book tells us we can capitalize on our happiness advantage is through doing things such as meditation, finding things to look forward to, commiting conscious acts of kindness, infusing  positivity into surroundings, wisely spending money, and exercising a strength.  The next principle was the fulcrum and lever which was all about considering the fulcrum to be our mindset and the lever to be the power we have. It helps us take our current situations and change perspectives to find ways to be more successful and fulfilled in our day to day life. The third principle is the Tetris effect which helps us identify alternate patterns of ways situations could face so that we can choose the optimal one and take advantage of each opportunity in our lives. Next, Falling up was discussed which describes our desire to find a mental path that will bring us the most stability and success to find happiness. The fifth Principle is the Zorro Circle which is about control. It is understood that at times we may feel lost or that we cannot handle everything happening in our lives, so this principle shows us how to ground ourselves and regain control. The 20-Second rule is us learning to change habits that are negative. The principle stresses that the best way to get rid of a bad habit is by having us replace the bad habit with a good one. The final principle is the social investment which discusses how important it truly is to associate ourselves with others who help put us into a higher and more positive mindset.

Authors description of the happiness Advantage

The author describes the happiness advantage as the best way to optimize one's positive feelings. In order to do so he has it divided in principles that further explain. The seven principles help us change our mindsets, by giving us small changes and discussing their effects. Sean says that happiness is the center of what makes us who we are, and with the positive outlook and mindset of the happiness advantage we will be able to find more positive emotions which build off of one another, leading us to a more positive mindset. These small changes of each principle build off of eachother, and as we succeed with each we begin to feel even more fulfilled and feel more overall happiness. He said even by just reminiscing on our best day ever we will perform better in what we do, even if its as simple as a daily task, or a real test. It is emphasized that though these changes are small there will be drastic positive change once these become a habit. It is said in the book that the small changes are crucial and one example of that highlighted in the book is when it says “even the smallest moments of positivity in the workplace can embrace efficiency, motivation, creativity, and productivity”. Overall, the author says that it is important to accept that this is going to take time but no matter who you are or how busy you are, there is something small you can take away from the book.

Brain on Happiness

        The brain on happiness discusses the correlation between happiness and success. Despite the original thought that in order to be happy you must be successful, the past twenty years in psychology research has drastically changed that thought process. Studies have shown has a crucial evolutionary purpose, which Frederickson had named the “Broaden and Build Theory”. This theory is to show that there is a broad horizon of thoughts that impact people, their brain, and the experiences they have, and that our emotions are much deeper than fight or flight. People who are primed also face a wide array of emotions when something triggers their brain, priming has to do with linking some sort of stimulus to a memory that could be positive or negative. The positive emotions we face not only broaden behavior and our cognition but also positively impact us and help us create and build to be more intellectual, social, and give us physical resources. When people are primed differently out visual cortex takes things in differently.Positive emotions expand our peripheral line of vision. Big companies use these happiness tactics in  their company n order to get happy, productive, and successful workers.

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