Assignment: Becoming Happy
Science has proven that we pursue happiness the wrong way. Unfortunately, this manifests in organizations and drives down employee engagement. This assignment will challenge you to re-examine your happiness paradigm by changing your behavior.
• First, watch Shawn Achor's TED talk (Shawn Achor: The happy secret to better work)
• Over the next 9 weeks, you will practice the following activities:
o Gratitude Exercises. Write down three things you're grateful for that occurred over the last 24 hours. They don't have to be profound. (It could be as simple as a really good cup of coffee or your friend's inappropriately-too-loud laugh.)
o The Fun Fifteen. Do 15 minutes of a fun cardio activity, like walking to class or walking the dog or yoga. (The effects of daily cardio can be as effective as taking an antidepressant!)
o Meditation. Every day take two minutes to stop whatever you're doing and concentrate on breathing. (Click here to check out free meditation apps.)
o The Doubler. Take one positive experience from the past week and spend five minutes writing down every detail you can recall about that experience.
o Conscious Act of Kindness. At the end of each week, send a short email or text praising or encouraging three people that influenced your week.
o Deepen Social Connections. Spend time with family and friends WITHOUT being on your smartphone, tablet or computer. Ask them to turn them off and truly engage!
• Each week, you will keep a journal of your experiences. There is no minimum length to your journal entries, but they should be thoughtful and done weekly.
o Reflect on your activities for the week. Tell me what you did, how it made you feel, what your favorite part was, what was hard...
o There will be 9 journal entries (first entry the week of 12/5, final entry the week of 1/30)
• Complete a 3-5 page paper (double-spaced, size 11 font) summarizing your 9-week experience (including a copy of your journal as an appendix item)
• Your paper should include:
o What you liked and didn't like about the experience
o How you've changed
o How other people have reacted
o What you are going to do differently (short-term AND long-term) in your life based on your experience.