Having a tough day? It’s great to have a reminder about gratitude.

Having a tough time? It may be useful to take a moment to reflect on the following,

90% of your long term happiness is predicted not by the external world but by the way your brain processes the world

….that is according to psychologist Shawn Achor who studies these things. I was reminded of this on a day of mindfulness recently where gratitude was at the core of a talk which encouraged us to explore what is going on in our minds and the choices we make concerning what we think about.

So what are Shawn Achor’s suggestions for long term happiness? In his TED talk ( the happy secret to better work) Shawn Achor outlines five daily actions that research has highlighted as leading us towards a more positive state of mind;

• 3 gratitudes ~ thinking of 3 things that you are grateful for daily
• Journalling a daily positive experience
• Exercise ~ which teaches your brain that behaviour matters
• Meditation ~ so as to allow the brain to focus on the task at hand
• Random acts of kindness

Shawn Achor suggests trying all five actions for 21 days…mine start today.