Scientifically, a positive mindset can have a profound effect on job satisfaction, productivity and job promotion.  Learn the science behind this in today’s episode. 

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2-ish minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and Shawn Achor, happiness researcher and New York Times bestselling author, says that what we think is that our external world is predictive of our happiness.  But in reality, he says if he knows everything about our external world he can only predict about 10% of our long term happiness.     

He said 90% of our long term happiness is not predictive of our external world, our circumstances and surroundings, but how our brain processes the world around us.  

The lens we use to view the world is the most critical component of long term happiness in positive psychology research today.  

This is all to preface his research that job success at work is only 25% predictive of IQ.  That means that being smart only has a 25% impact on whether you are good at your job. 75% of job success is predictive of your optimism levels, your social support, and your ability to see stress as a challenge instead of a threat. 

That’s incredible right?  I think about kids going to college and all the stress they are under.  And those entry level jobs and the jobs at the tippy top in the C-Suite.  What we know is that we can rise to the level of success we’re after by how we view the world, how we treat others - if we have a positive social support system - and how we view stress.  

I heard not that long ago about a study.  Two researchers from Virginia found that when looking at climbing a mountain, when they asked people who were solo climbers how tall the mountain was, they overestimated its steepness by 10-20% as compared to climbers that would judge the same mountain standing next to the buddy they were climbing with.   

That shows you how successful teams can be in the workplace too.  It’s scientifically better, the work feels more manageable when you are working with someone else.  

So, can happiness make me more successful at work?  The research indicates it is a responding yes!   Until next time, remember, kindness is contagious, go out and spread some kindness today.  

Inspired By:  The happy secret to better work | Shawn Achor

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