Shawn Achor

A Harvard lecturer identifies seven core principles of positive psychology to counsel readers on how to achieve greater effectiveness and fulfillment in the workplace, explaining the role of happiness in enabling success and productivity.

The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology that Fuel Success and Performance at Work

The Happiness Advantage

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • The happy secret to greater success and fulfillment in work and life—a must-read for everyone trying to flourish in a world of increasing stress and negativity “Thoughtfully lays out the steps to increasing workplace positivity.”—Forbes In the book that inspired one of the most popular TED Talks of all time, New York Times bestselling author Shawn Achor reveals how rewiring our brain for happiness helps us achieve more in our careers and our relationships and as students, leaders, and parents. Conventional wisdom holds that once we succeed, we’ll be happy; that once we get that great job, win that next promotion, lose those five pounds, happiness will follow. But the science reveals this formula to be backward: Happiness fuels success, not the other way around. Research shows that happy employees are more productive, more creative, and better problem solvers than their unhappy peers. And positive people are significantly healthier and less stressed and enjoy deeper social interaction than the less positive people around them. Drawing on his original research—including one of the largest studies of happiness ever conducted—and work in boardrooms and classrooms across forty-two countries, Achor shows us how to rewire our brains for positivity and optimism to reap the happiness advantage in our lives, our careers, and even our health. His strategies include: • The Tetris Effect: how to retrain our brains to spot patterns of possibility so we can see and seize opportunities all around us • Social Investment: how to earn the dividends of a strong social support network • The Ripple Effect: how to spread positive change within our teams, companies, and families By turns fascinating, hopeful, and timely, The Happiness Advantage reveals how small shifts in our mind-set and habits can produce big gains at work, at home, and elsewhere.

How a Positive Brain Fuels Success in Work and Life

Mark Gibaud

Some good stuff! Not as entertaining as Shawn's TED Talk though ;-)

Most people want to be successful in life. And of course, everyone wants to be happy. When it comes to the pursuit of success and happiness, most people assume the same formula: if you work hard, you will become successful, and once you become successful, then you'll be happy. The only problem is that a decade of cutting-edge research in the field of positive psychology has proven that this formula is backwards. Success does not beget happiness. Based on the largest study ever conducted on happiness and human potential (a survey conducted by the author of more than 1,600 students), Harvard lecturer Shawn Achor shares seven core principles of positive psychology that each one of us can use to improve our performance, grow our careers, and gain a competitive edge at work. He reveals how happiness actually fuels success and performance, not the other way around. Why? Because when we are happier and more positive we are more engaged, creative, resilient to stress, and productive. The Happiness Advantage will appeal to anyone who wants practical advice on how to become happier and also more successful.

Keven Wang

Fabio Bracht

Apesar de ser bem pouco rebuscado, místico, ou misterioso (aliás, este livro é meio o oposto destas três coisas: simples, pé no chão e acessível), é um dos melhores livros que já li, cheio de lições, estudos, conclusões e propostas de hábitos que vou levar para a vida toda. 

O livro fala basicamente sobre como a ideia de "trabalhar para ter sucesso para ter felicidade", nessa ordem, não apenas está errada, como está completamente invertida. Diversas pesquisas mais ou menos recentes demonstram que um caminho muito melhor e mais apropriado é "ser feliz para trabalhar melhor e então ter mais sucesso". Mas e como dar o pontapé nessa felicidade que serve de raiz para o sucesso? Bom, aí há vários princípios e hábitos (até fáceis de aplicar, eu diria) que o livro explica. 

Li no iBooks, mas pretendo mandar vir algumas cópias da Amazon -- uma pra eu ter e ficar relendo periodicamente, e outras para presentear algumas pessoas, inclusive meu próximo chefe.

Sierra Nguyen

Although this book is not entirely about habit-building, I can see how the 7 principles can be boiled down to building a good mental habit. How you see the world and its events can really affect how you feel and your level of happiness. If you choose to focus on only the negative things, you're training your mind to only see the negatives, thus making yourself feel miserable. On the other hand, as this book suggests, if you choose to view the world through a more positive lens, you can start to create a better environment for you to live. And we all know how one's level of happiness can affect those around them. So choose your lens wisely.

Vivian

Pragmatic, especially the 20-second rule. Would recommend his TED talk.

Vera Sokolyanskaya

Many times I found myself ranking a non-fiction book 4 stars and then returning to its ideas over and over again, changing my opinions or the way I do things, or using examples from this book when talking to people. Rating non-fiction is really hard - the book needs to be well-written to get the highest ranking from me. But in the end I don't read non-fiction for its writing style, I read it to learn something new about myself and this world.

This is one of those books. It had its weak moments and questionable trains of thought but some of the ideas and tools in this book are going to stick with me for a long time.

The ideas are not new and have been there for a long time, the most powerful thing for me was the reference to all the research that supports it. Yes, you can say that you don't get the full description of each research, you get a very short description plus a reference to it, and this is actually the way I like it best.

Jennifer Dieter

I took a lot away from this book even though I feel happy in my job. I plan to use some of the exercises to improve as a manager and leader within my organization and improve my overall satisfaction at work and home. I liked his use of stories and metaphors to help the principles "stick." Very accessible as a business book.

Kayla 

I really enjoyed reading this book and took lots of notes for each of the principles. Here are some take aways:

‘happiness is the precursor to success’

‘happiness = human flourishing’

I hope you find your little source of happiness ☀️💛

The always lovely @abigailscupoftea recommend this book in a YT video and I’m so glad I picked it up!

The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work

Paulina R.

Would recommend to anyone! I will definitely be reaching for this book again soon 😊

The Happiness Advantage The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology that Fuel Success and Performance at Work

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