Harvard proposes 5 fun tricks to succeed
Our life is a constant search for happiness. On many occasions, we think that the only way to reach it is to lead a life full of successes and recognitions and this is a real mistake. It is important to change the meaning of this idea and turn it around: first you have to be happy, the successes are a consequence of my happiness. A professor at Harvard University offers 5 fun tricks to succeed.
A person who focuses solely on how to succeed, seek recognition or compete live always stressed and life will be an uphill road.
Being an optimist, positive and cheerful, whose goal is to make others happy makes it much more aimed at achieving success and good results. This has been shown by several specialists. This is the case of Shawn Accor, an expert from Harvard University who has dedicated his research to the study of happiness and to demonstrate the relationship between being happy and being successful in life. According to this expert, the key to success is to practice small habits on a daily basis that lead us to achieve higher levels of happiness, such as making a list thanking all the good things that happen to us, meditate and reflect or exercise regularly. .
5 tips to achieve success in life
In this way, Shawn Accor proposes five simple and fun tricks to achieve success:
1. Success does not give happiness. Happiness brings success
We tend to pursue success thinking that if we succeed we will be happy. For this reason, we often think: "I will be happy when I graduate or when they raise my salary". Accor has shown in his studies that this is not the case. Once a goal has been reached, it remains happy for a short period of time, but immediately afterwards the goal is set to achieve something else. Shawn showed that if a person strives to increase their level of happiness and optimism their success rates rise drastically compared to the success achieved by a negative, stressed or worried person.
2. Confront problems as challenges and not as threats
Shawn insists that this is an attitude that can be learned and this was demonstrated in an experiment he did. He did a study of a group of bankers right after a huge banking crisis. Many of them were stressed, but a few remained firm and happy. The difference between one group and another is that some saw the problems as threats and others as challenges to be overcome. Shawn posted a video that reflected the importance of facing stress as a challenge and within a few weeks found that these sad and unmotivated bankers had improved by 23% their levels of happiness and commitment to work.
3. Having twice as much work means you need twice as many friends
In situations of stress it is important to rely on those around us. To be successful, it is essential to offer support and help to others. Living with a competitive attitude does not favor success, it only generates stress and tension. It is proven that people who help others achieve some of the greatest successes and benefits. The people who survive stress the best are those who increase their social investments in the midst of stress.
4. Send a thank-you e-mail each morning
It is a mistake to think that happiness will only come from great achievements. Research shows that happiness is found in the small details. Shawn proposes the practice of simple habits and that they hardly require time, as it is to write an e-mail or a text message giving thanks. It will only take two minutes of your time and it is a very simple habit that will help you to feel better and happier. Shawn points out that: "The simplest thing that can be done is a two-minute email eulogy thanking someone you know." This experiment was proven in several US companies. The workers had to write for 21 days in a row to a different person. The result was that it dramatically increased the social connection, which is the greatest predictor of happiness.
5. The "20 seconds" rule
It involves practicing an action, which requires only 20 seconds, to give up a negative habit or to start practicing a positive. For example, if I watch too much television, with the mere fact of removing the batteries from the remote control, an action that does not create a delay of more than 20 seconds, the amount of television consumed drastically decreases. Shawn himself practiced much more sport if he slept with the gym clothes on and put the shoes next to the bed. If the amount of activation energy needed is reduced, difficult things become easy. Acquiring a habit is only a matter of beginning.
María Redondo
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