SHAWN ACHOR’S 7 PRINCIPLES OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY THAT FUEL SUCCESS & PERFORMANCE AT WORK

“Our most commonly held formula for success is broken. Conventional wisdom holds that if we work hard we will be more successful, and if we are more successful, then we’ll be happy. If we can just find that great job, win that next promotion, lose those five pounds, happiness will follow. But recent discoveries in the field of positive psychology have shown that this formula is actually backward: Happiness fuels success, not the other way around.” -Shawn Achor, CEO of GoodThinkInc. Continue reading Shawn Achors 7 Principles of Positive Psychology

Have you ever been so immersed in doing a task you forgot to eat, and time seemed to fly by? Being consumed by a task in this manner is what is referred to as flow. Positive psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi began researching this phenomenon after becoming fascinated by artists who got lost in their work. Artists, especially painters, were so captivated by their work they would disregard their need for food, water and even sleep. Continue reading Flow

Think of the most successful people you know. What did famous inventors like Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla and Leonardo Da Vinci have in common with successful people today? There are certain characteristics these people share that attributed to a major part of their success. In this article I’ll illustrate 7 of the most important skills one can develop that will withstand the test of time itself. Continue reading Timeless skills

Why do we sometimes feel a sense of disconnection when working certain things, and a sense of extreme fulfilment and connection when working on other things?

Recently, a friend of mine told me he was considering quitting a side project he had started with a few partners. He started the project with the best intentions; however it felt as though the team didn’t agree on many issues and there was a major disconnect between team members. It had also dawned upon him that they didn’t share similar values or even share the same vision! This made him feel uneasy and incongruent while working on the project, and led to his decision to leave the team. Continue reading Make better decisions easily

What makes a Michael Phelps, a Michael Jordan, or a Tiger Woods? In the world of competitive sports, these athletes have managed to set themselves apart from the competition, and enter the realms of legends. How do they differentiate themselves when competing against the best in the world? Continue reading Ikigai – unleash your true potential

What do Elon Musk, Elizabeth Holmes, and Barack Obama have in common?

They exhibit extreme characteristics of the adaptive learning mindset. In this ever evolving world, the human race faces new problems that our ancestors wouldn’t have even imagined; mass famine, drought, clean energy, pollution, and global warming. These leaders are at the forefront of their respective fields, tackling big problems and trying their best to work to resolve the issues we all face. Continue reading Adaptive learning mindset

Retrograde analysis is a technique used by chess players where they determine which moves were played leading up to a given position. As a chess game progresses the chess position gets simpler, there are fewer pieces on the board, until finally there are only a few pieces left in play. According to chess grandmaster Maurice Ashley, when great players play, this final stage determines the winner.

According to Ashley, the two main benefits of studying the end game are: Continue reading How retrograde analysis can increase your effectiveness

Recently I spoke to a friend of mine (let’s say her fictitious name is Jane) who’s currently doing her PhD in engineering immediately after graduating from undergraduate. We were talking about future plans and she told me she felt nervous and scared when thinking about the future. Jane said the job market was scary and she had no idea how to go about getting a job after graduation.

I was surprised that an intelligent and qualified person such as herself felt she didn’t have many options. In this article, I’ll use her example to demonstrate that there is really nothing to fear about the future as long as we are proactive in our approach to life and all her mysteries. Continue reading Thinking proactively increases effectiveness

Recently, I realized that my work space and general living space was messy. The thought of cleaning and arranging everything at once seemed overwhelming. I noticed the clutter was not conducive to creating a studious environment, and this was affecting my productivity. Luckily, I’ve been reading about Kaizen and applied it to get the results I wanted (a tidy living space).

Continue reading How continuous improvement can increase your effectiveness

Almost every day after work, I went to the gym from 6.30 to 8.30 every weekday. Right after the gym, I’d settle down and watch TV for a few hours before going to sleep. I went through a busy period at work, and I noticed I went to the gym less frequently. However, I was watching the same amount of TV or more per week.

I became curious. Why did the frequency of me going to gym decrease, and why was I watching the same amount of TV, or more, per week? I knew it had something to do with my habits and I expected to learn a few things. However, after researching habits, what I found blew my mind and changed my life! Continue reading How to build habits that last