WOW Word-Of-the-Week #464: Associate
June 27, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #464: Associate
Associate – connected, joined, or related as a companion or colleague.
Would you spend your leisure time with any of your colleagues from work? If so, would you say that they are usually happy and positive? How about your friends and family?
This week is a follow up to last week regarding the Bradley J. Fikes article in the San Diego UT titled, “COACH: HAPPINESS BREEDS SUCCESS, NOT VICE VERSA
Speaker tells biotech convention key is changing perception of life.”
What really interested me was Eric Karpinski’s explanation on how you change your perception. He says his ideas aren’t original as there’s years of study into the field known as neuroplasticity. I’ve never even seen this word before. Have you? He says, “Not only can happiness be learned, but by treating people kindly, happiness can actually be spread. Neurons that fire together, wire together.”
This not only applies to the brain, but in groups. Visible changes in mood among one person are contagious in social settings, such as in an office environment. If one person is angry or upset, the mood sours among the rest. These changes are communicated by mirror neurons, which capture the perceived emotions of others. Mirror neurons are something we can tap into to take advantage of our happiness.
If a room contains happy and unhappy people, those most expressive of emotions will have the most influence. Mirror neurons will most strongly pick up their emotions. So happy people shouldn’t hide it. If we actually share the good things, share what we’re grateful for, and start conversations that way….then we create the opportunity.
Over a longer term, practicing an appreciation for what’s good can rewire the brain to a more optimistic outlook. Research proves that just as harmful events and stress can cause anti-social changes in the brain, a positive environment can rewire the brain to promote pro-social behavior and well-being. And a 2008 study in the British Medical Journal found that happiness tends to cluster in social networks. In other words, happy people associate with other happy people.
My mother told me from the time I can remember how lucky I was. And I believed her! To this day I remind myself of how lucky I am. How lucky are you? My sister Lurene says, “Being happy or grumpy is a habit.” What’s your habit?
This week’s focus is on how you associate. Do you have any social networks? What you are grateful for? When was the last time you shared it? What are your mirror neurons reflecting?
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #463: Perception
June 19, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #463: Perception
Perception – how things appear/seem to you based on what you see, hear, feel, taste & smell.
Have you ever heard the saying that perception is reality? Do you believe that your next promotion or new job will make you happier? Do you spend time fretting about what’s not going right in your life?
This Sunday I found a great San Diego UT article titled,
“COACH: HAPPINESS BREEDS SUCCESS, NOT VICE VERSA
Speaker tells biotech convention key is changing perception of life.”
Bradley J. Fikes writes, “For the classic rat-race employee, the next promotion, a new house, a new car is supposed to bring contentment. Usually it doesn’t work. After a temporary jolt of joy, life returns to the less-than-satisfactory norm.
Eric Karpinski, a biotech investor turned success coach, says to turn that formula backward and you’re much more likely to find happiness. Instead of trying to find happiness as the
result of hard work, focus on being happy and success with follow much more easily. Mixing research findings with practical advice he shares that you can reshape how the brain responds to the everyday environment.
He says he learned personally that hard work and professional accomplishment does not invariably produce happiness. The solution is to change the perception of one’s life by paying more attention to what’s working right instead of unproductively fretting about what is wrong.
I know from experience that “what you think about, you bring about.” If I asked you what you want in your life could you tell me? Do you know that most people when asked that question will tell you what they don’t want? And by focusing on that, they continue to create “what they don’t want in their life!”
This week’s focus is on perception. You know what you’re supposed to do, right?