Need a dopamine fix to get through your work week?

I meant to post this Monday morning — when many in the workplace could use a happiness boost!  (That’s what dopamine does for your brain.) You may think positive psychology is mostly platitudes. But Shawn Achor could change your mind. The psychologist’s research into happiness shows that success does not lead to happiness. Instead, happiness leads to success!  You can get his explanation in a little over 2 minutes in the video below.

So how can you increase your happiness?  One option is alcohol. (See the related stories below.) But you’re not Don Draper in Mad Men. So Achor’s research shows you can train your brain to increase dopamine production in 2 minutes per day for 21 days with any of the 5 exercises below:

1. Write down 3 new things you’re grateful for.
2. Journal about 1 positive experience within the past 24 hours.
3. Exercise.
4. Meditate.
5. Perform a random act of kindness.

If you want a little longer — and more entertaining — intro to Achor’s work, try the TEDx talk.  You can also visit his Good Think site.

Cheers!

Related articles

• Merely a Taste of Beer Can Trigger a Rush of Chemical Pleasure in the Brain (blogs.smithsonianmag.com)
• Just The Taste Of Alcohol Triggers Dopamine Release (medicalnewstoday.com)