Training our Brains

Did you know that we train our brains to either scan the world for negatives or scan the world for positives? Most people, unfortunately, have trained their brains to scan the world for negatives. Why? Because we're often rewarded for noticing and surfacing problems that need to be solved. Unfortunately, the better we get at scanning for the negative, the more we miss out on the positive... And it is the positives--the things that bring us happiness--that ultimately fuel our success. 

"Constantly scanning the world for the negative comes with a great cost. It undercuts our creativity, raises our       stress levels, and lowers our motivation and ability to accomplish goals... Studies have found that across           the board, in both academic and business settings people who prime their brains with positive thoughts, significantly outperform others, completing the task both more quickly and with fewer errors... For instance, students who were told to think about the happiest day of their lives right   before taking a standardized test outperformed their peers....The implications of these studies are undeniable: People who put their heads down and wait for work to bring eventual happiness put themselves 

at a huge disadvantage, while those who capitalize on positivity every chance they get come out ahead."

          - Shawn Achor, The Happiness Advantage

It's almost January. We have entered the daily grind. And, I will say this again: This is REALLY HARD WORK. Let's train our brains to scan our worlds for the positives and share these observations with each other. Let's remind our students to do the same.