In class on Friday we watched the video: Shawn Achor: The Science of Happiness and Potential

I really liked this video about positive psychology! I thought it was very interesting and enjoyed the humor he incorporated.

The points that particularly stuck with me about why don't we study happy people? Why just if there is a problem? I also like the point about trying to attain happiness as a mindset and choice. He made this realistic by including that it is about changing your baseline of happiness (bringing your baseline higher). I found this realistic because I know that I could not be happy all the time but on average I could become a happier person with conscious thought and effort. He gave tips on how to work on becoming a happier person such as writing 5 things you are happy for each morning, writing about a positive experience everyday in a journal, and not multi-tasking. I find that I multi-task too much such as checking my email, working on homework, listening to music, cooking supper, having laundry going, texting, and thinking about something else as well! Just typing that it looks overwhelming! I believe that not only would I be happier if i single tasked-- I would be more successful as I would produce better quality output of work. I absolutely agree with the point of exercising. I know that exercise makes me feel happier because after I workout I feel good about myself. I have been trying to take more time to focus on myself such as going for massages and having alone time away from others each day to unwind. I can understand how it can be difficult to change because it is easier said than done. Even though it takes only 30 seconds to write 5 things you are thankful for down, you still have to do it. This leads me to the other point I liked in the video about making these tasks more easily accessible. The example in the video was the guitar and keeping it out in a more accessible place.
I can include this by thinking positive before a test or hard workout. I have to do it anyway so might as well be positive while going through it instead of complaining about it before and dreading it. As a teacher, you can apply this by priming your students-- acknowledging them by name, asking how they are, asking about interests, being positive yourself as a teacher. As a student I can tell what kind of mood my teacher is in and that effects the whole class. I believe the teacher makes the difference in the tone of the class and it is therefore important to be positive.
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