Shawn Anchor has an interesting job; he studies happiness. Some of you may have seen his PBS special, or his TED Talk. Both give practical ways to apply the findings of his years of research. He is able to take cutting edge developments in neuroscience and deliver them in humorous, memorable chunks of information. When applied to life, work and relationships of all sorts, these bits of information seem to radically increase our levels of happiness.
The story does not end there. Once raised, our levels of happiness reduce stress, improve health, influence our ability to live long lives and help us reach our goals. Whether the goal is related to business or some artistic pursuit such as music or writing, chipping away at that goal in a happy state of mind drastically increases our chances of attaining it.
Creative projects and the many goals that make them up are usually worked on over time; sometimes a very long time. Being able to sustain high levels of happiness for the long haul helps not only to achieve our goals but to live an enjoyable life along the way. If you think being more creative will make you happy, you may want to rework your formula. It is far more likely that being happy will make your more creative. Learning how to be happy is a skill and one that creative types would do well to develop.
Here is one of Shawn Anchor's talk on happiness. It is funny, short, and filled with tips for how to be happy. Hopefully the talk will leave you smiling and inspire your creative work today.
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