The Happiness Advantage

The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work

By: Shawn Achor

Narrated by: Shawn Achor

Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • An engaging, deeply researched guide to flourishing in a world of increasing stress and negativity—the inspiration for one of the most popular TED Talks of all time

“Powerful [and] charming . . . A book for just about anyone . . . The philosophies in this book are easily the best wire frames to build a happy and successful life.”—Medium

Happiness is not the belief that we don’t need to change; it is the realization that we can.

Our most commonly held formula for success is broken. Conventional wisdom holds that once we succeed, we’ll be happy; that once we get that great job, win that next promotion, lose those five pounds, happiness will follow. But the science reveals this formula to be backward: Happiness fuels success, not the other way around.

Research shows that happy employees are more productive, more creative, and better problem solvers than their unhappy peers. And positive people are significantly healthier and less stressed and enjoy deeper social interaction than the less positive people around them.

Drawing on original research—including one of the largest studies of happiness ever conducted—and work in boardrooms and classrooms across forty-two countries, Shawn Achor shows us how to rewire our brains for positivity and optimism to reap the happiness advantage in our lives, our careers, and even our health. His strategies include:

• The Tetris Effect: how to retrain our brains to spot patterns of possibility so we can see and seize opportunities all around us
• Social Investment: how to earn the dividends of a strong social support network
• The Ripple Effect: how to spread positive change within our teams, companies, and families

By turns fascinating, hopeful, and timely, The Happiness Advantage reveals how small shifts in our mind-set and habits can produce big gains at work, at home, and elsewhere.

©2010 Shawn Achor (P)2010 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Shawn Achor is funny, self-deprecating, and devastating to my notions of what his field is all about…. I'm butter to his knife." (The Boston Globe)

"Achor bases his training on a burgeoning body of research on the positive psychology movement, which emphasizes instilling resiliency and positive attitudes." (The Wall Street Journal)

“Achor transports us to his virtual classroom, a journey along which we glean the seven secrets of happiness. The Happiness Advantage reveals the most important discoveries coming out of modern psychology.” (Rom Brafman, bestselling co-author of Sway and Click)

Happy Happy Happy!

it made me Happy to listen to someone who knows what makes people really happy!

solid book about positive behaviors

A solid book about positive behaviors that can have compounding effects on your overall life.

Excellent book. Highly recommended!

It’s like Mom helping put together a jigsaw puzzle. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Complex psychology, simplified. Thank you, Shawn!

A Prescription for Happiness

Shawn does an excellent job in narrating the axiom of his work: that happiness is the precursor to success, not the other way around. Unlike other books on the same subject, the material seamlessly weaves between the science and research of this theory, and the tangible application of it for people across all walks of life. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who is looking to improve their outlook and outcomes.

Read and Live

This book can't be fully appreciated until you implement it into your life.

If you're like me, you may read it, think...."Yeah! This makes sense!".....get all excited, and then don't take action. And when you find yourself in the doldrums again, you'll hopefully be reminded of this work and maybe come back to it and start to really live it.

Since I have actually started to implement the principles in this enlightening, witty, humorous, and deceptively dense-with-research book, I've seen my productivity increase, my happiness flourish, and my relationships strengthen. Live it. You won't regret it.

Great read

I found it interesting.... this book has a lot of good points that I never considered before. Good book to read if your looking for personal growth.

What to be best self?

The book summed itself up best... Knowing that the principles are common sense doesn't mean we act common sensibly. The body of work complied a host of psychological studies that framed the way we can get the most from ourselves and those around us. And be happier people in the end. I enjoyed it and felt great passing it forward. The workplace would be better if practiced the principles.

Great Book

It is a great book, I listened to it twice. I will definitely buy the book to read.

everyone should read this book

Lois

I loved this book and found it extremely helpful , the ideas are easy to follow and implement. The real life stories were entertaining and helped me get a full understanding of the principles.

thank you

Eye opening!

I recently switched work centers and noticed low morale in this new environment. I knew that a team with high morale creates innovation, creativity and performance because I experienced it first hand at my old workcenter. This book re-iterated to me the truth. This had many great principles backed by tons of scientific research and tests. I loved the audiobook so much that I'm going to to have to share this with many other leaders. Thanks for the insightful read!