What if you had six things that could guarantee you happiness and success at the same time?
To many, you have to give up happiness for success, but according to psychologist Emma Seppala, science director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, happiness and success are not mutually exclusive, as she revealed in her new book – The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success.
She identified these six things as keys to being happy and successful:
1. LIVE IN THE MOMENT
Studies suggest that when we’re focused on the present, we’re much more productive and more charismatic.
According to research by Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, whether you’re an Olympic athlete or a mathematician, you are at your best when you’re in flow. He describes the experience of being intensely focused on something while enjoying what you’re doing as the “flow” state.
2. BE RESILIENT
A 2004 study suggests that if we can train ourselves to be more resilient to the setbacks in our lives, we will be more likely to bounce back from them
3. KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON
Seppala says that if you take time to be calm, it can help you manage your energy.
4. DO MORE OF NOTHING
Research suggests that we’re at our mental best when we’re not especially alert or focused. So if we want to be creative, we need to give ourselves more time off.
Seppala recommends building downtime into your workday by alternating high-intensity activities like preparing a presentation or attending a board meeting with low-intensity tasks like organizing your desk or files. And when possible, it’s a good idea to “unplug” from work completely, she said.
5. BE KIND TO YOURSELF
Sepalla suggests that you should be kind to yourself, remember that everyone makes mistakes, and observe your negative thoughts from a distance without letting yourself really dwell on them.
6. BE COMPASSIONATE TO OTHERS
“If you have supportive relationships with others, you end up doing well in the long run,” says Seppala.
Jake