Ben Morton is a leadership mentor and performance coach with a unique background. Before setting up Ben Morton Leadership he was a former Captain in the British Army that lead his teams in life or death situations.
With all his knowledge we asked Ben for some advice about happiness in relation to mindset and in his wonderful #YESvember video he shares lots of useful advice and research, plus a great worksheet he has created, which can give you a useful snapshot of your life right now…
We spend considerable amounts of our waking hours working. And being happy in our work and as leaders is the key to increasing engagement at work. If we, or our teams, are not happy it affects other aspects of our lives. If we are happy it sees energy levels surge and helps our immune systems and our personal, mental and physical health.
Ben outlines some small steps we can all take to boost our happiness levels…
Look at where you are now
In his video Ben discusses exploring the people, places, pursuits and media aspects you have in your life. Which of them are energisers and which drains? Who inspires you and tops you up and who or what depletes your energy levels?
By thinking about elements of your life in relation to how they make you feel and by being truly mindful of them they can provide insight into what simple changes we can make to help create a happier you.
Get your hands on Ben’s BM_3PM_audit worksheet.
Three degrees of connection
As humans we are impacted by other influences: our friends, their friends and their friends’ friends: three degrees of connections of friends in effect.
Thinking about who you spend the majority of your time with is important and consciously focussing on what’s in your control can make a real difference to your happiness.
Unconscious mirroring
We hear from Ben about emotional contagion; the triggering of similar emotions and behaviours and moods in other people, which can spread like wildfire.
Spend more time with those you can learn from and less with those that lower your mood or hold you back.
Look at the wider environment
There is a great deal of research behind what media you consume and when you consume it and how it can impact mood and happiness. Data suggests that listening to negative news first thing in the morning or last thing at night has a significant impact on our mood.
Without even realising it the wider environment could be having a greater impact than you first thought. So, take a few minutes to conduct an audit on the media you consume and find other ways to fuel your happiness….
Happiness fuel
With your media consumption in mind we found some resources packed with positive stories to fuel your happiness today…
Associated references
Sonja Lyubomirsky, http://sonjalyubomirsky.com
Buy The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky
Shaun Achor: The Happiness Advantage Tedtalk
Buy Connected by Nicholas Christakis
Connect with Ben www.ben-morton.com
