Happiness=Success

Irene Becker – Your Brain for Success

The scientific evidence is in, and it is conclusive.

If you want to be more successful you need to prime your brain to be positive.

➣ That’s right. Happiness must come before success. Staying stuck in a negative rut, dwelling on problems versus being solution oriented will not help you succeed, and it will contribute to what the World Health Organization tells us will be the major cause of disability by 2020—stress, negativity, disengagement.

➣ What exactly does brain science tell us? Most of us were trained to think that success leads to happiness. We now know, through neuroimaging and other longitudinal scientific studies, that achieving success in a rapidly changing and often chaotic world, workplace and marketplace demands a whole new skill set.

Here are ten simple steps that take only a few minutes a day and will help prime your brain to be success oriented.

1. Talk nice to yourself! Celebrate every win in your mind’s eye no matter how small. Pay attention to the positive.

2. Connect, get social. Talk to people you care about; talk to people you work with. Make social connections.

3. Hug. Hugs stimulate oxytocin, the “love hormone,” spreading a feel-good boost.

4. Make love. Yes, it’s no surprise that lovemaking boosts happiness levels!

5. Keep a gratitude journal. Writing about what you are thankful for both helps retrain your brain to be more optimistic and positively impacts your health!

6. Get physical. Physical activity is a significant happiness booster. Exercising for 30 minutes a day can take up to 7 years off your chronological age! And, it eases stress, improves sleep, strengthens immunity, and increases happiness.

7. Help others. Altruism makes us happier and stronger. Volunteer at a soup kitchen, hospital, or shelter.

8. Go outside, spend time with Mother Nature. It will make you feel more alert, enthusiastic, energetic, and happy.

9. Take two minutes or less to be mindful! If you don’t meditate regularly, spend a few minutes several times a day being mindful of your breathing

10. Get silly, embrace the kid in you. Enjoy a good joke, watch a funny video, smile, enjoy a great comedy. Laughing is a great way to exercise your brain and give your body a mini aerobic workout!

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.  Priming your brain to be positive will help you achieve greater success and well-being.

1/2 Marathon Week 1 training

When I started working at WONS in January I had no idea that I'd be more than just a fundraiser that sits behind a desk - I somehow agreed to participate in the Adidas Auckland Marathon, competing in the 1/2 Marathon race, which is 21km!

Now I am no fitness fanatic - I like to do some pilates, walk my dogs and swim laps the pool, I'm certainly no runner and I'll admit my gym routine is usually the first thing that gets postponed when I get busy... but that is all about to change.

Dion Ipsen, the manager and personal trainer at Jetts Royal Oak, kindly agreed to make me a plan so that I can go from novice dog walker to 1/2 Marathon runner! In just 14 weeks.

For those of you interested here is week one's plan:

Mon    Tues   Wed   Thurs   Fri     Sat     Sun           Total
Rest     2km     Rest    2km     3km   Rest    2km road  10km

Dion kindly explains that as a beginner all training runs for the first 6 weeks should be at an easy pace (60-75%) which is roughly 8-9km/hr on a standard treadmill. You should be able to hold a conversation while running and your HR shouldn’t exceed 145bpm generally.

It is great to have a goal to work to each week. Thanks Dion! If you would like to contact Dion about personal training check out his Facebook profile here.