TED Talk Tuesday: The Happy Secret to Better Work

Today's TED Talk was recommended to me by not one, but two people (thanks Steph and Dr. Phil!).  Shawn Achor studies and teaches Positive Psychology, and is the CEO of Good Think, Inc.  In his funny and fast-paced talk, he argues that being positive can make us more productive.

Some pearls from his talk:

• "If we study what is merely average, we will remain merely average."
• Only 10% of our long-term happiness is predicted by our external world.
• 90% of our long-term happiness is how our brain processes the world.
• If we change the formula for happiness and success, we can change the way we affect reality.
• 25% of job successes are determined by IQ.
• 75% of job successes are determined by optimism levels, social support and the ability to see stress as a challenge instead of a threat.
• Your brain at positive performs significantly better than it does in negative, neutral or stressed.
• Every business outcome improves when your brain is in positive.

Here's his talk.  Enjoy!

TED Talk Tuesday: Creativity, Fulfillment and Flow

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced "chick-sent-me-high-ee") is the founder and co-director of the Quality of Life Research Center, a non-profit research institute that studies positive psychology.  He wrote the book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.  

 In his TED talk, Csikszentmihalyi describes the flow state, or the effortless, spontaneous feeling that you get when you enter into an ecstatic space.

How Does it Feel to be in Flow?  

Csikszentmihalyi says there are seven conditions that exist when we are in flow:

1. Completely involved, focused, concentrating - with this either due to innate curiosity or as the result of training
2. Sense of ecstasy - of being outside everyday reality
3. Great inner clarity - knowing what needs to be done and how well it is going
4. Knowing the activity is doable - that the skills are adequate, and neither anxious or bored
5. Sense of serenity - no worries about self, feeling of growing beyond the boundaries of ego - afterwards feeling of transcending ego in ways not thought possible
6. Timeliness - thoroughly focused on present, don't notice time passing
7. Intrinsic motivation - whatever produces "flow" becomes its own reward

When Are We in Flow?

Csikszentmihalyi says flow happens when we your challenges are higher than average, and your skills are higher than average.

One of the most important components to flow is that it happens when we are doing what we really like to do.

When was the last time you were in flow?