Did you know that you can shift your brain to be happier and by being happier you will be seen as more indispensable to those around you?
Your Brain’s Set Point
My friend and inspirational Coach, Marcia Reynolds (her site linked) put this article up on her FaceBook post this past week, “Want a Happier Brain? Try Mindfulness” by Dan Goleman. He explains that neuroscience research has shown that we each have a set point in our brains that is tipped either more toward negative emotions (irritability, frustration, etc) versus positive emotions. The good news is that you can shift this set point toward the positive by learning and practicing mindfulness. The brain data showed a shift after a short period of time, “the biggest boost in the tilt to a happier brain comes in the first months of mindfulness practice, not after long years. But even so, to get the benefits, you’ve got to practice daily.” And the great thing is that you can sneak this practice into your regular routine by just deliberately focusing for a time period and letting go of distractions. I have seen the power of incorporating this focus with myself and several of my coaching clients. Goleman suggests you can even do this during your morning commute. This is great news for all of you over busy people! Also, here is a link to a prior post I wrote, “Coaching for Mindfulness,” for more ideas on how to be mindful.
Being Indispensable
I had the opportunity to sit in on a tele-seminar by Seth Godin this past week and he asked a great question, “If you don’t make it to a team meeting do your team mates and leader give a sigh of relief or do they really miss you and your input?” Wow, does that make your value to the team clear or what? I was reminded of this when I read the article linked above because Goleman starts by pointing out that his friend (with the more positive brain set point) is one of those people, “…whose mere presence brings a good feeling.” Wouldn’t you love to be described that way?
I made a direct link to the happy brain and Seth Godin’s question as a measure of being indispensable (Seth’s book is, “Linchpin, Are You Indispensable?”). Of course, there are other competencies required to be indispensable but if you are one of those happy people that other people just want to be around then you have a great foundation to build from.
Your challenge for this week: sneak in some mindfulness and see what happens with your brain and how others behave around you; make it an experiment and let me know what happens!
photocredit: Paulinepriceflickr via flickr creative commons