A short motivational talk/transcript by Vishen Lakhiani teaching a simple, evidence-backed gratitude exercise that takes under five minutes and can quickly increase happiness. He prescribes a three-part daily habit—list five personal gratitudes, five career gratitudes, and five self-appreciations—and explains scientific benefits linking gratitude-driven happiness to improved performance, health, and social connectedness.
Chapters
The pursuit of happiness drives almost all our decisions in the world today. But what if happiness doesn't really have to be something that you pursue? What if there was a way where, with a few simple changes in how you think about the idea of happiness, happiness could be easily attainable. Not something that's out there waiting for you to accomplish some big goal or attain some epic thing, but something that you could just strike up on demand. What if, in fact, you could be 25% happier without earning 25% more or getting 25% more love or 25% more sex or 25% more recognition? What if happiness, like a button, was something you could just push and feel? Well, science says happiness is a lot easier than what we make it out to be. And they are simple, scientifically backed exercises that have been proven over and over and over again to dramatically increase your happiness level almost instantly without you having to strive or battle or hit big goals or even pop artificial substances. And that exercise is called Gratitude. What I'm going to teach you is a simple, effective way to apply gratitude in your life so that you experience massive boosts in your happiness and really, really, really quickly. And the best part is this exercise takes under five minutes. It really is that easy. And it creates an exponential effect. See, when you're happy, it isn't just an end in itself. Numerous studies have also shown that when you're happy, pretty much every aspect of your life enhances. Salespeople perform 56% better when they are primed to be happy. College students perform better in exams when they are primed to be happy. Doctors make 19% more accurate diagnosis when they are primed to be happy. Happiness, somehow, for whatever reason, boosts your performance. It boosts results, it makes you live longer. So how do you get started? Right. Well, this is how the exercise works. It's something that you want to make a habit. It's something that you want to do in the morning just as you're getting out of bed. Now, I do it this way. I sit down, I relax, and I just think about five things that I'm grateful for in my personal life, and then five things that I'm grateful for in my career or my professional life. That's it. Just five things. Now, a lot of people struggle with these five things you shouldn't. They could be easy. Sometimes when I'm thinking about five things in my personal life, I'll think about that amazing cup of coffee I had the previous day or the fact that I drove to work and the commute was Easy. Or great movie I recently saw. Or a great song that came on the radio. Or the way my kid greeted me when I came home from work. Or a kind word a friend told me. It's easy. Five things. If you can't think of five things in the last 24 hours, expand it to the last few days or the last one week. Then you go on to five things that you're grateful for in your career or your professional life. It could be a project that you finish effortlessly on time. Or a kind word your boss told you. Or a raise you got anytime in the last one year. Now, all of this so far, honestly would only take you about 60 to 90 seconds. And there is a third step. That third step really locks it in. See, what I found is that many people can be tremendously grateful for their family or their friends or their work, but they lack a certain amount of gratitude for who they are and for themselves. Some people call it self love or self respect. But it's really important that you bring in this third step. And in this third step, you're just going to think about five things that you're grateful for about yourself. Five reasons you absolutely freaking love yourself. It could be that beautiful smile. It could be the fact that you're always nice to strangers. It could be the fact that you're great with kids or animals. Or the fact that people count on you and you're always functional. It could be the fact that you are a great writer or speaker. Or the fact that people in your office love having you around because you fill a room with positivity. No matter what it is, think about five things from the last few days that really, really, really make you absolutely love yourself. And now you've locked it all in. Five things about your personal life. Five things about your career or work life. Five things about you that's just absolutely freaking ridiculously awesome. And that's it. See, a lot of us think that to have tremendous results in life, we have to struggle and do really big things. Get that out of your mind for a moment. Because to get tremendous results in elevating your level of happiness, it's not a huge thing that you have to do. It's a simple 90 second mind hack that I just showed you the expression of gratitude. And you know what the best part is? Other studies have shown that when you express gratitude, not only do your levels of happiness shoot up, but because your levels of happiness shoot up. And because happiness is such a powerful emotion, all the following also start happening. Levels of emotional intelligence go up, you start sleeping better, your rate of aging actually slows down, you end up living longer, your productivity shoots up, you have more forgiving attitudes, less likely to experience depression, anxiousness disappears, and you start developing more feelings of being socially connected to the people around you. You in in short, become a positive beacon that influences everyone around you. So can you think of a better way to spend 90 seconds of your day? So don't miss out on this. Practice gratitude daily. Remember, happiness isn't that hard. Happiness comes from within, not on external circumstances. And when you do this exercise, you become the sole thing that determines your happiness. Sam.
