2015 has been a wild ride. Boston, Napa, NYC. Weddings, moving, Brie’s graduation. Through all the changes and travel one thing was a constant – my love for podcasts. They’re entertaining, get my head right in the morning, and often easier to learn from than tackling a novel.
Two years ago I blogged about where I was in different areas of life. Last year I looked back at a few favorite books. This year I wanted to share my favorite podcast episode.
Some of the podcasts I subscribe to:
- EntreLeadership for inspiration and leadership principles in business
- Michael Hyatt’s show that seems to help with balance and intentional living
- The Tim Ferris Show is a smorgasbord of interviews with top performers, life hacking and thinking outside the box
- Tropical MBA Podcast will make you want to quit the corporate gig for travel and entrepreneurship
- Pardon The Interruption is my guilty pleasure and sports fix. And because Mike & Mike take too long to get to the damn point
Of the hundreds of podcast episodes I’ve consumed this year, ONE was a stand out favorite. Entreleadership #121 with Shawn Achor on How Happiness Fuels Your Success. The interview hit me like a ton of bricks and left a lasting impression. I loved how actionable it is, the refreshing perspective and the fact his consulting work is based on years of research. The 15 minutes is packed full of nuggets. Here are my 3 biggest takeaways:
- Joy vs Happiness
- “Happiness is the joy you feel moving towards your potential…even when life is not pleasurable.” A simple and powerful distinction we often confuse.
- Happiness Is A Choice
- “90% of long term happiness is based on how your brain processes your world.” Studies show it’s not income or genetics, but learned behaviors on how we choose to see our own situation.
- The Business Case
- “The greatest competitive advantage in the modern economy is a positive and engaged brain.” Sales increase, entrepreneurs are more resilient, and information is better processed.
But what tends to happen?
We let circumstances dictate our attitude.
We say we’ll be happy once X happens.
Then we’re not happy and waiting for Y to happen.
We say we’ll be in a better mood when things get easier.
We compare, and compare, and compare. Thank you, Facebook.
We do what feels good now thinking it’ll make things better forever.
We always find what’s wrong.
Instead we need to remember happiness is a choice and take small steps every day to train our brains through gratitude, exercise and reflection. Our careers, relationships and 2016 will be better for it.