The Happiness Edge

Shawn Achor (An American happiness researcher, author, and speaker known for his advocacy of positive psychology) reports that only 25% of success in a job is based on your ability to do the job. The other 75% that contributes to success at work is down to your optimism, social support network and the ability to see stress as a challenge.

If this is true for adults then it must also be true of children who are learning.

Dopamine is the hormone that is released by the body when we are happy, but as well as making us feel the happy feelings, this same hormone also activates the learning the learning centres of the brain, meaning that we are in a better state when we are happy.

As a academic pressure on children increases and assessment becomes a greater focus, the children who come in to see our NLP4Kids Practitioners have this idea that they need to do well in their tests, school work and homework to feel successful. When we’re successful then they are happy.

In fact, instead of working harder to feel happy with their results, if they are happy first they will naturally be more productive and approach their work with a better attitude (and therefore do better)

The NLP4Kids Practitioners this month are focusing on the subject of happiness with a view in increasing happiness levels and this will influence positive change in many other areas such as:

• Attitude Improving (will become more positive and caring)
• Reducing stress
• Emotional diffculties reducing (as the atmosphere becomes more positive)
• Social relationships will improve as interactions become friendlier
• Productivity will increase become negative or stressful thoughts have reduced and ceased to take up so much time and attention
• Behaviour will improve as there will be less conflict

Our NLP4Kids Practitioners have designed a few sessions which will will be working on children this month:

1. Physiology: How you can use your body to create happy feelings. We will be looking at posture, eye     movements to achieve this.
2. Words: How you should talk to yourself inside your head and out loud if you want to feel happy
   Gratitude: The benefits of doing random acts of kindness and focusing on the things you are grateful for.
3. Mind Pictures: The ways to change old memories that make you unhappy.
4. Review: What did we learn and how can we focus on happiness everyday in the future?

Beyond this, our Practitioners will also look into communication with the child. We would encourage the child to spread the happiness within the school, with their friends and family. A child who processes a good attitude and commitment extend their chances of doing well in life because when we raise positivity, the brain operates better than it does in a state of negativity, stress or in a neutral mindset.

As the positivity rises on a consistent basis, so does resilience and productivity. This means that not only can children enjoy learning now and in the future, but they will perform better as they do so. The better they perform, the better the long term outlook for their future in achieving a well paying carer and be coming an active and responsible member of society.

Neuroplasticity means that our thoughts can change the structure and functions of our brains when we repeatedly think a certain way or do a certain thing. They can train their brains just like sportsmen and women train their bodies. This means that with repeated practice of the following the 4 happiness steps we have created, our pupils can develop a life long habit of thinking more positively.

Suffering from anxiety or depression had effected people the most severely affected. This highlights that in adult life the thing what will matter most for these children is their ability to be happy instead of anxious or depressed. To do that they need good mental health, good physical health and positive relationships. Putting happiness first creates a positive catalyst to being able to achieve all the other important elements in life and to learn the skills required to control ones own thoughts and emotions with the power of their thoughts and actions.

By Gemma Bailey
http://www.NLP4Kids.org/gemma-bailey