Watch This TED Talk By Shawn Achor
Optimism is movement toward
wisdom and enlightenment.
Pessimism is movement
toward ignorance.
- Sri Swami Jyotirmayananda
Sri Swami Jyotirmayananda is a lovely Enlightened Master, living in Miami, Florida. If you are ever in the area and you have some time, visit his ashram.
This is one of my favorite TED Talks. Shawn Achor gives a very practical examination of optimism.You may have to watch this talk a few times, he talks super fast, so its good that its less than 13 minutes long!
To summarize what Shawn Achor has tested with his clients, commit to these practices for at least 21 days.
1. Gratitudes – write down three NEW things you are grateful for everyday
2. Journaling – write about one positive, happy experience, no matter how small, that occurred in the last 24 hours, each day
3. Exercise – five days a week, engage in exercise, your behavior matters
4. Meditation – calm the ADHD addiction of our culture and increase focus
5. Random Acts of Kindness – commit some unexpected conscious act of kindness every day, at the very least write a praising or thankful e-mail to a different person you know each day
Scan the world, for the positive first, not the negative.
Could Mysticism be the art and science of responding to the cult of the average by cultivating optimistic outliers?
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