In "The Happiness Advantage," renowned positive psychology TED talk speaker Sean Achor explains the definition of positive psychology, why positive psychology is necessary and the seven key positive psychology concepts you can easily start implementing today for radical improvements in your happiness.

1. What I Learned From “The
Happiness Advantage: 7
Principles of Positive
Psychology”
Blue Sky Mind

2. Shawn Achor is the CEO of Good
Think Inc., where he researches and
teaches about positive psychology.
Shawn is the winner of over a dozen distinguished
teaching awards at Harvard University, where he
delivered lectures on positive psychology in the most
popular class at Harvard.
About the author

3. 90%
Of happiness is how your mind processes the world.
Yet the brain auto-focuses on workload, stresses, and complaints...
Rather than being naturally grateful or happy.
Why it matters

4. The brain must be
trained.
Introducing, the 7
Principles...

5. 1. The Happiness Advantage
Understand It:
● The Big Idea: happiness is at the center,
success revolves around it.
● Happiness is defined as pleasure,
engagement, meaning
● If your mindset/mood = positive, then
you’re smarter, more motivated, & more
successful (backed by science)
Happiness

6. 2. The Fulcrum & Lever
Understand It:
● Beliefs are powerful, they dictate our
actions
● Brain resources are limited, so we must
choose positive mindset over negative
● Must continually pursue happiness
● Fixed mindset vs. growth mindset
○ Fixed: “my capabilities are set”
○ Growth: “I can enhance my basic qualities
through effort”
Exercise:
● Do you have a job, career, or calling?
○ Job: work is for money, apathetic
○ Career: driven to advance and succeed
○ Calling: fulfilling, part of the greater good
● Fundamentally, it doesn’t matter what job
you have. It’s all about mindset:
○ Ex: How might a janitor see his job as his
calling? He keeps the cafeteria clean so
children can have the best learning
environment.

7. 3. The Tetris Effect
Understand It:
● We can train our brains to scan for
positivity in every situation
○ Ex: If you play Tetris long enough, your brain
spots geometric patterns everywhere
● We see what we look for!
Do It:
● Hone the skill: find 3 things to be grateful
for everyday (“3 Good Things”)
“My experience
is what I agree to
attend to” –
William James,
psychologist

8. 4. Falling Up
● Capitalize on your down moments to build
upward momentum
● Get good at bouncing back
○ Practice positive reinterpretation of the event
■ View adversity as local & temporary
■ NOT global & permanent
○ Accept the situation
○ Be optimistic
○ Focus on the problem head-on
“When we choose
to say “poor me”
and play the
victim, it makes
us feel worse”

9. 5. Zorro Circle
Understand It:
● Limit the scope of your efforts to small
manageable goals that build outward,
gradually conquering more and more
● Start w/ the belief that your behavior
matters & controls your future
● The smallest circle of control is self
awareness
Do it:
● Verbalize stress & helplessness when
you feel out of control
● Make two lists: what you can’t control &
what you can
○ Focus your energy on what you can
control
● Move challenges from the emotional
part of your brain to the problem
solving part (right --> left)

10. 6. 20 Second Rule
Understand It:
● Common sense is not common action
○ Just because you know something doesn’t
mean you’ll act on it
● We are merely a bundle of habits
○ Automatic, low energy requirement
○ Ritual, repeated practice
● Willpower is not the way
○ Willpower weakens the more we use it
Do It:
● Make it 20 seconds easier to adopt a
good habit
○ Ex: Sleep in your gym clothes
● Make it 20 seconds harder to tap into
your vice
○ Ex: Take Facebook off your bookmarks
bar

11. 7. Social Investment
Understand It:
● Social relationships are the single greatest
investment for a happiness advantage
○ Second to career achievement & income
● Harvard Men study: 70 years evidence that
relationships with other people matter
more than anything in the world
○ Distinguishes top 10% happiest folks by 0.7
correlation
○ 0.3 is statistically significant
Do It:
● During unexpected challenges, hold
tight to the people around you
○ Rather than turning inward
● Build out your offensive line
○ Family, friends, colleagues, partner
● Capitalization: share upbeat news with
someone
● Respond to the good news of others
actively/constructively
○ Not passively, destructively, or
ignoring outright

12. Happiness Strategies

13. Happiness Strategies// Internal
● Practice “3 Good Things” everyday
● Meditate
● Journal
● Exercise
● Visualize yourself giving a good
presentation
● Recall a past presentation when you killed
it
● Read a funny Buzzfeed article
● Take a brisk walk
● Prime yourself to expect a favorable
outcome, so you actually recognize that
outcome when it happens
● Make two lists: what you can’t control
& what you can
● Move challenges from the emotional
part of your brain to the problem
solving part (right to left)

14. Happiness Strategies// External
● Random acts of kindness
● Verbalize stress & helplessness
● Social investment:
○ Simply reach out to a friend
○ Share upbeat news with someone
○ Be present
● Frequent recognition & encouragement of
others
● 6:1 positive to negative comment ratio
(Losada Line)
● Pygmalion Effect: when our belief in
another person’s potential brings that
potential to life
○ Do I believe the people around
me can improve?
○ Do I believe they want to make
the effort?
○ How am I conveying that in my
everyday interactions?
● Invest in more (literally) happy hours
with your friends, coworkers, etc.

15. Happiness is at
the center.
Success revolves around it.

16. Invest in your
happiness, and
success will follow.

17. The End
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