CEO of Good Think Inc. and the author of ‘The Happiness Advantage’, Shawn Achor, discusses the power of positive thinking and how it can lead to more successful business growth.
If there is one thing that unites all businesses together, it is the common goal of business growth and overall success. So businesses and individuals strive to increase productivity, set the next goal, and remain aware of the competition in order to reach these peaks in business. Once that peak is has been conquered, we look up to the next mountain and begin the climb anew.
And the ultimate goal of all this business growth? Well naturally, it is all in the quest for happiness and fulfillment. However, what if we (and the whole of society) have been looking at this all wrong? What if it is completely backward?
In a 2011 TED Talk, Shawn Achor describes how happiness inspires us to be more productive despite the universally held belief that happiness comes as a result of successful productivity. He describes how by retraining our brains, we can function from a state of happiness instead of negative or neutral. And in that positive state of mind; we work faster, more creatively, and ultimately much more productively.
Achor states; “In just a two-minute span of time done for 21 days in a row, we can actually rewire your brain, allowing your brain to actually work more optimistically and more successfully.”
Retrain Your Brain for Happiness and Business Growth
In order aide businesses, Achor worked with their staff to retrain their brains and to get in a positive state of mind. This helps the company and each individual strive toward greater business growth and success. The following are 5 things to do everyday, over a 21 day period, to retrain your brain:
- Write down three new things that you’re grateful for each day
At the end of this your brain starts to retain a pattern of scanning the world not for the negative, but for the positive first. - Journaling about one positive experience you’ve had over the past 24 hours
This allows your brain to relive it and reflect upon the positivity. - Exercise
Exercise teaches your brain that your behavior matters. - Meditation
Meditation allows your brain to get over the cultural ADHD that we’ve been creating by trying to do multiple tasks at once and allows our brains to focus on the task at hand. - Random Acts of Kindness
These are conscious acts of kindness toward your fellow humans and can be as simple as sending an email thanking somebody in their support network.
For further motivation for your growing international trade business, check out our past posts:
