The Science of Happiness (Featured On The Straits Times – 15 June 2018)
THE SCIENCE OF HAPPINESS
To many people, happiness continues to be a myth. Many remain in search of that happiness through tangible outcomes, be it a promotion, money, or buying more stuff that eventually ends up in the storeroom.
I called it the “accidental happiness” – short-lived happiness that requires us to keep looking repeatedly for that tiny shots of happy chemical to keep us going.
In my leadership facilitation and coaching over the years, I have made it a point to raise the awareness of my participant by emphasizing the importance that one should “BE happy” (that’s why we are called human BEings), versus chasing after happiness.
When you can be happy no matter where you are, success will eventually come to you. Here are three areas of happiness that power up your performance at work:
HAPPINESS IMPACTS OUR BRAIN CHEMISTRY
Being happy helps us to be more optimistic in life. Learn how to be happy, and optimism will follow. Being in a state of happiness also help our nervous system to move from fight and flight into calmness and poised to act.
We think more rationally, and with it, the ability to positively regulate our emotion and feel energized and ready to plan for the future. People with happiness and hope have their brain chemistry set up for success.
They might experience momentary downturn, but they pick themselves up faster than the rest because they have well-programmed their brain to do so.
HAPPINESS MAKE YOU A BETTER VERSION OF OURSELF
Being in a state of happiness allows us to be more creative in our thought process. More importantly, it helps us to be more adaptable to our environment.
If an organization is undergoing a transformation process of reshuffle and resizing, we can be pretty sure that team with happy people will take on the journey transformation more positively.
Being happy also gives us more energy and supports us in making smarter decisions and managing complexity better. In short, happy people perform better than the unhappy people.
HAPPINESS BOOST YOUR PERFORMANCE AND INCOME OVER TIME
Can we be happy at work?
The answer is yes. When you work with people you like and respect, and vice-versa, you will enjoy going to work every day. A healthy relationship is the backbone of every successful organization.
A study revealed that having a healthy relationship at work boost employee satisfaction by 50 percent. Also, people with a best friend at work are seven times more likely as others to engage fully in their work.
HAPPINESS IN A NUTSHELL
A simple yardstick of happiness is; Do you get up each day and keep trying, especially during trying times? Happiness is not just being happy when things go well, but also how you cope during tough times.
Article by:
Joseph Wong, multiple awards-winning talent development and behavioral transformation coach of TrainingGearAsia Pte Ltd, and conference speaker on game-changing leadership and influence. Email him at ignite@traininggearasia.com
