Audiobook7 hours
The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance atWork
Written by Shawn Achor
Narrated by Shawn Achor
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
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.
“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.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherPenguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Release dateSep 14, 2010
ISBN9780307749352
More audiobooks from Shawn Achor
Big Potential: How Transforming the Pursuit of Success Raises Our Achievement, Happiness, and Well-Being Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBefore Happiness: The 5 Hidden Keys to Achieving Success, Spreading Happiness, and Sustaining Positive Change Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPut Happiness to Work: 7 Strategies to Elevate Engagement for Optimal Performance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Happiness Advantage
Related audiobooks
The Decision Book: Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking (Fully Revised Edition) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMake Change That Lasts: 9 Simple Ways to Break Free from the Habits That Hold You Back Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lean Learning: How to Achieve More by Learning Less Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Joy at Work: A Revolutionary Approach To Fun on the Job Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 5 Resets: Rewire Your Brain and Body for Less Stress and More Resilience Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Personal Growth For You
The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life, and Achieve Real Happiness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and into Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Happiness Makeover: Overcome Stress and Negativity to Become a Hopeful, Happy Person Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Artist's Way: 25th Anniversary Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 48 Laws of Power Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Boundaries: When To Say Yes, How to Say No Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Greenlights Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5ADHD is Awesome: A Guide to (Mostly) Thriving with ADHD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Speaking to Yourself with Love: How to Kindly Manage Your Inner Critic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pivot Year: 365 Days To Become The Person You Truly Want To Be Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Live in the World and Still Be Happy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stop Saying You're Fine: Discover a More Powerful You Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Don't Believe Everything You Think (Expanded Edition): Why Your Thinking Is The Beginning & End Of Suffering Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/512 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Total Money Makeover Updated and Expanded: A Proven Plan for Financial Peace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Creative Act: A Way of Being Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mindset: The New Psychology of Success Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Happiness Advantage
Rating: 4.09065934065934 out of 5 stars
4/5
182 ratings13 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Oct 26, 2015
I enjoyed listening to this audiobook, which was read by the author. It has good information and great ideas on how people can apply its principles in the workplace. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
May 18, 2015
I enjoyed listening to this audiobook, which was read by the author. It has good information and great ideas on how people can apply its principles in the workplace. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Apr 2, 2015
If you want a little more happiness in your life, this is the book for you. A perfect mix between academic statistics and Texan colloquialisms. Unpretentious and uplifting. This is a must read for all. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Nov 6, 2014
Think that once you're happy, you'll be successful? Positive psychology posits the exact opposite, that happiness breeds success. Shawn Achor uses his professional consulting and extensive research (the notes detailing his sources are 6 pages long!) to support his principles for helping you choose happiness. I've read it - once - but already plan to read it again. His TED talk on the topic is one of their Top 10. I have already recommended his work to several other people and starting his second book. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Sep 18, 2014
Whoops.
Original rating and review was for Duhigg's Power of Habit, not Achor's happiness Advantage.
I'll just say that while I enjoyed and appreciated this book, it does much less well at the things that made Duhigg's work stand out. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Jul 9, 2014
Great book, with fresh ideas and a great writing style. I petered out a bit towards the end (so perhaps could have been 50pp shorter) but recommend as it has some good advice. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Aug 22, 2013
This book is one of a growing library of research that supports what I've believed for the past few years: that happiness is a skill you can develop. What's great about this book is that it doesn't make the assumption that something is inherently wrong with the reader, and gives readers practical advice on small things they can do to get their brains more tuned in to being happy. It's a state of mind—one that does come more naturally to some than others—but it's also a muscle that can be exercised. And there's no "secret" to it, as many so-called self-help books suggest. It's just doing small things, such as writing three good things down every night, whether it's three good things that happened over the course of a day (no matter how small) or three things you're grateful for. Doing this can help rewire your brain to see more possibilities, more insights, and help you see and seize upon opportunity when it arises. It's a book that's geared more toward helping leaders and business people make their workplaces happier, but I think anyone could benefit from reading this. Also, he's funny. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Mar 24, 2013
Another fascinating book! He describes how happiness foster spirit’s productivity hence the way to succeed!
Well - I had some doubts at the beginning and therefore my curiosity was at the paroxysm all along the reading!
All examples given were very practical and useful – nobody could context …
Magic world where we can understand and study how psychology and happiness are pretty nice combination into the brain – this could potentially help at least to better surround procrastination stuff and who knows – The road to success!
Definitively I must read and nice asset ;-)
March, 24 th - 2013 - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Feb 15, 2012
I listened to this audiobook and it was one of the best books I've ever heard! I will definitely be listening again periodically. Shawn Achor narrates it himself and he is warm and fun to listen to.. (Check out his TED talk on Positive Psychology.) There are tons of practical tips and activities that can easily be learned and integrated into your life... If any book can be considered life changing, this is one of them! And the information is all backed up with scientific studies and funny, endearing stories. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Oct 9, 2011
This is a worthy addition to the popular works about positive psychology. Achor describes 7 key concepts, all of which are straightforward, relevant and practical. The two strategies that most influenced me were the "Tetris Effect" and the "20-Second Rule." In the Tetris Effect, he describes how much our brains can develop a specific orientation or thought pattern - not just in attitude but even how we approach and see problems. In the "20-Second Rule," he provides the practical advice to make habits easy to form by putting the desired objective within easy, visible reach. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Sep 18, 2011
Great summary of the relevant research in happiness written in an entertaining way. While he does re-frame some ideas there is nothing really new. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
May 7, 2011
I enjoyed this book. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Apr 17, 2011
Research which documents mental attitude being very relevant to success. Practical advice on how to change your thinking. Good for managing people and also gaining an understanding of past experiences and reactiions.
