Does anyone remember the story of Copernicus? For time's sake I'll abbreviate- basically he argued that the Earth revolved around the sun when, at the time, everyone in the world was 'taught' the exact opposite.

"For untold generations, we have been led to believe that happiness orbited around success. That if we work hard enough, we will be successful, and only if we are successful will we become happy...The ruling powers continue to tell us that if we just put our nose to the grindstone and work hard now, we will be successful, and therefore happier, in some distant future."

In The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor aims to flip this prevailing thought on its head. And he does so with statistics and anecdotes. Fun fact: he applied to Harvard on a dare and had never left home (Waco, TX) until he left for college. He liked it so much he spent the next twelve years of his life there studying sad Harvard students.

If asked to define happiness, could you do it? You could probably come up with what makes you happy, but a definition for such a broadly accepted word could be difficult. The book uses three measurable components, pleasure, engagement, and meaning to put happiness into a comfortable little box.

Aristotle used the word 'eudaimonia,' which translates to "human flourishing. And to the author, happiness is 'the joy we feel striving after our potential.'

To relate to powerlifting... sure it feels great to step onto the platform and compete and do  your best, but that's the payoff. The joy is in the process. If you had to train day in and day out and not enjoy it, only to compete once or twice a year and those are the only days that make you happy, what is the point? It's the same as the conventional thinking of 'work hard now and be happy later.' Bullshit...be happy now. Be happy you get the opportunity to train.

THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG: Does happiness come before success or success before happiness?

Two interesting studies:

One study measured the initial positive emotions of 272 employees and followed them for 18 months. They found that after controlling for other factors those that were initially happier received better evaluations and higher pay later on.

"Another study found that how happy individuals were as college freshmen predicted how high their income was nineteen years later, regardless of their initial level of wealth."

Basic stuff. OK so big deal, a couple studies showed blah blah blah. It gets better...

Scientists studying the brain as it relates to fight or flight mode, something that hasn't changed much from our caveman ancestors, found two important functions of positive vs negative emotions.

"Negative emotions narrow our thoughts and range of actions, which has served an important evolutionary purpose....if a sabertooth tiger was running at you, fear and stress helped release chemicals that either prepared you to fight the tiger or flee from him." Yes, you're fucked either way but at least your brain is trying to save your body.

So what do positive emotions do for the brain? Well actually the exact opposite:

"Instead of narrowing our actions down to fight or flight as negative emotions do, positive ones broaden the amount of possibilities we process, making us more thoughtful, creative, and open to new ideas...Recent research shows that this 'broadening effect' is actually biological; that happiness gives us a real chemical edge on the competition. How? Positive emotions flood our brains with dopamine and serotonin, chemicals that not only make us feel good, but dial up the learning centers of our brains to higher levels."

Imagine the same caveman sitting around a fire with his family or tribe and everyone is sharing stories and being creative and maybe playing with rocks to find new ways to make weapons. Being positive has just as much use as being negative when it comes to life or death.

But in today's age...it pays to be positive. And my goal is to break world records, so sure I need some fight or flight in there. But in my day to day, it's a lot less stressful to not be an asshole and I get a lot more enjoyment out of being positive and helping others. Although this takes effort. Some days it doesn't come naturally.

As Achor says, "Remember, happiness is not just a mood- it's a work ethic."

Everyone is different. We all have a baseline for our level of happiness. The goal is to permanently raise that baseline so even bad days are still more positive than before. So how do you become happier? Well, with practice. Achor suggests:

Meditation (there are apps for this now so no excuse not to try)

Find something to look forward to (plan a night out with friends or vacation so you can look at the calendar when you need a pick me up)

Commit Conscious Acts of Kindness (none of this random bullshit)

Infuse Positivity into Your Surroundings (have pictures of your family in your office, go for a walk on a nice day, eat outside when it's nice)

Exercise (I imagine anyone reading this already knows that training makes you happier)

Spend Money (on someone else)

Exercise a Signature Strength (Yessie loves to clean, it makes her feel better. Dani loves to bake. Murph loves to get drunk and tell jokes. Everyone has their thing.)

One of the author's strengths is a "love of learning." He travels 300 days out of the year and would love to visit museums and what not in other cities but finds that he is often pressed for time. So he decided that at the bare minimum, for each new place he visits, he would learn one historical fact. Minor, but it made a difference for him. To me it's the same as each training session- if I can improve on one weakness or learn one new technique or teach a training partner one new cue, then it was fulfilling.

A final story (for anyone who owns a business or manages employees): "The Order of the Elephant"

The elephant is a two-foot-tall stuffed animal that any employee can give to another as a reward for doing something exemplary. The benefits come not just in the delivery and reception of well-earned praise, but afterward as well- 'other employees stopping by immediately notice the elephant and go, "Hey, you got the elephant. What'd you do?" Which means the good story gets told and retold many times and the business best practices are reinforced.

This wasn't my favorite chapter. There were some good takeaways from it, but I'm looking forward to how it all comes together to form a plan.