5 fun ways to succeed in life

For some time now, we have listed for you some characteristics present in successful people. The fact is that a lot of people out there think that to be successful, it takes a lot of commitment. Not that that's not true, but a post on Eric Baker's website has uncovered data discovered by a Harvard researcher who has happy solutions, say, for those looking to succeed.

Researcher Shawn Achor has been studying one of the most subjective themes of all for years: happiness. The differential of Achor's studies is precisely the idea that success does not bring happiness. The opposite, however, seems to make the most sense.

To prove his theory, Achor studied the behavior and attitudes of people who excel in some respects, such as convincing salespeople and students who, unlike most, have super high grades. For the author, instead of treating these exceptions as a small percentage within a large number of individuals, it is ideal to study thoroughly why these people stand out. Makes sense, doesn't it?

This way, according to Achor, it is possible to discover little-used tactics and pass them on to people who want to stand out in some way. In his research, he has been able to prove that it is possible to do things to be happier and that, as if it is not good enough, being happier makes the individual successful. Check out this guy's tips below:

Think about the relationship between success and happiness.

Achor points out that most people often think of what they want as follows: “I'll be happy as soon as I get promoted at work”; “I will be happy when I lose weight”; "I'll be happy when I can buy that car." In this way, we condition our happiness to some aspects of success.

Achor's research shows us that, in practice, we are happy, yes, when we can achieve some goal. Still, it is a short happiness; As soon as we reach our goal, we find an even bigger one. Not that having goals and objectives is a bad thing, but what Achor suggests is a reversal of values.

Instead of conditioning our happiness to some success, we should be happy without having to achieve anything for it. Achor tested this theory and found that happy, upbeat people tend to succeed in their goals. It is possible, he explains, to succeed and not to have much happiness after all. On the other hand, being happy will always be synonymous with succeeding.

Still doubt? So be aware that there are already cases of employers hiring their new employees based on the optimism they show. In one of his studies, Achor found that intelligence and technical skills account for only 25 percent of a person's talent. The other 75% correspond to optimism, social contacts and the way an individual handles stressful situations.

2 - Problems Are Challenges, Not Threats

During a really complicated financial crisis, Achor studied the behavior and decisions of major US bankers. Most, as you can imagine, were absolutely nervous and stressed. Some bankers, however, displayed happiness and resilience.

Studying these few professionals who were happy even in times of crisis, Achor realized something interesting: Instead of thinking of problems as threats and representatives of danger, these professionals viewed them as challenges and thus were not discouraged.

Before you go around saying this is something you can't copy, know that Achor has found that, yes, optimism and resilience are attitudes we can learn to have. By showing a video to discouraged bankers explaining the importance of viewing problems as challenges, the attitude of most of these professionals has changed.

To be sure that the change would not be ephemeral, the researcher followed these bankers for up to six weeks. As a result, he and his team realized that stimulating change from this standpoint was able to reduce the stress symptoms in these professionals by 23%. In addition, happiness levels have risen among these people, just as their work outcomes have been better.

3 - The more you work, the more you need friends.

In studying stress and happiness, Achor also analyzed the behavior of some college students obsessed with achieving the highest grades. Most of them spent hours reading in the library, eating meals while studying, and having virtually no social life. Did you get the best grades? Do not.

In fact, these students were the most likely to freak out, ask for transfer and so on. With that Achor raises another issue by stating that the people who handle stress better are also the ones with the most friends to count on in times of crisis. And in practice, most people isolate themselves in times of crisis, stop going out, don't talk to anyone.

Moreover, Achor draws our attention to the fact that this social connection is important even when we are not in crisis. Being selfless, that is, helping someone without interest, is a quality present in successful people. In large companies, the researcher found that altruistic employees are 40 percent more likely to get promoted over a two-year period.

4 - Thank

You have probably heard that showing gratitude is big business. What you may not know is that thanking you for even the smallest things can really change your life.

This logic comes from the fact that for Achor, rather than placing our expectation of happiness on some enormous achievement, we should stick to small joys and simple habits, such as gratitude. In this case, the advice is straightforward: send an email or a message of gratitude to someone every day as soon as you get to work.

Achor auditioned with several professionals. For 21 days they should send a thank you email to someone important in their lives. In this short period of time, it became clear that this simple exercise significantly improved the interpersonal relationships of these volunteers, as well as their performance in teamwork.

5 - The 20 Second Rule

If you are one of those people who always knows everything they need to do to have a better life but who, for some reason, just doesn't have the courage to take the first step, pay attention. Achor knows that the worst part is always getting started, and for that he has found a solution as well.

For him, the ideal is to ensure the first 20 seconds needed to start a new task. Like? A good example is anticipating the start of a difficult task, such as sleeping in a T-shirt or gym top, leaving your sneakers beside your bed, and thus being less likely to give up working out as soon as you wake up.

Basically, the idea is to find ways to facilitate the start of an activity. Waking up early in the winter, for example, can be a bad thing for most people. So if you already leave your clothes separate, the task may be less boring.

***

So, what did you think of these tips? Could you put them into practice?