November and Shawn Achor and Gratitude -

 November! And with that comes the obligatory, but blessed, opportunity to count blessings. Shawn Achor, a psychologist who has focused his career on happiness, is my favorite researcher and presenter on this topic. Please take a moment to watch this 12 minute video:

https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work?language=en; 

Be prepared to rewatch, just because you’ll be laughing so hard you’ll miss a few things the first time around.

 And then, because you’ll have been inspired to rethink how you look at life events, consider trying his

“21-Day Challenge,” in which you pick one of five researched habits and try it out for 21 days in a row to create a positive habit. Doing so actually rewires — or trains — your brain to be more positive. 

Here are Achor’s five habits:

1.       Three Gratitudes: Pause to take note of three new things each day that you are grateful for. Doing so will help your brain start to retrain its pattern of scanning the world, looking not just for the negative inputs but for the positive ones.

2.       Journaling: Similar to the gratitude practice, but in this case, detail — in writing — one positive experience each day. This will help you find meaning in the activities of the day, rather than just noticing the task itself.

3.       Exercise: Exercising for 10 minutes a day not only brings physical benefits, but it also teaches your brain to believe your behavior matters, which then carries (positively) into other activities throughout the day.

4.       Meditation: Take just two minutes per day to simply breathe and focus on your breath going in and out. Doing so will train your mind to focus, reduce stress, and help you be more present in this moment.

5.       Random Acts of Kindness: This can be something simple, and Shawn suggests writing one positive email to praise or thank someone each day. Not only does it benefit the recipient, but it also increases your feeling of social support.