Activities: The Happiness Advantage, Emotional intelligence

ACTIVITY 1 AND 2
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Introduction
Shawn Anchor is a household name when it comes to the teaching and motivation skills based on psychology. His focus, particularly on positive psychology, is one that has catapulted him to global recognition and numerous prestigious awards. He is well educated at the Harvard University, and holds a clear distinction among his colleagues as a pioneer in psychology to do with happiness. He tours the world addressing companies, educational institutions, and even government agencies on aspects to do with positive psychology, organizational achievement and the overall essence of happiness. This paper looks at the analysis of one of his seven principles of happiness, as well as an additional movie to do with emotion and cognition.
Activity 1
Of the seven principles advanced by Anchor, the most ideal from a personal perspective is happiness advantage. Generally, everyone strives so hard to be happy or to have some sort of ‘happily ever after’ scenario. Happiness therefore, occupies a central part of anyone’s life. It is the inner joy or feeling of satisfaction that one experiences after achieving some set target. It is more important and beneficial to channel one’s efforts towards achieving the positives, which in turn bring happiness, than having to combat the negatives, which will be time-consuming and energy sapping. Doing the positives, which bring us happiness, will often our thinking to new ideas and hence new possibilities, thereby increasing creativity. There are exercises that contribute to happiness, such as exercises, which ease the internal tension, open up the mind, and therefore boosting motivation, reducing stress as well as increasing confidence.
The dopamine and serotonin hormones that are usually constructive to the brain, are usually secreted when there is happiness. These chemicals also boost the learning capacity of the brain, thereby bringing about increased learning and memory capacities. According to Davies (n.d.), any single amount of positivity goes a long way to giving one a serious competitive edge over the others. Happiness should be taken as part of the working strategy and work ethic. Activities such as meditating contribute greatly towards the feeling of wellbeing and overall health due to secretion of chemicals within the body, which improve health. Indeed, mental health is influenced by the small acts that bring about happiness, such as giving away to the needy and helping out wh...