Exercise makes your brain happier

The way you think about the world determines your happiness. That’s the finding by psychologist Shawn Achor. In fact, your thinking accounts for 90 percent of your long-term happiness.

He’s discovered something called “the happiness advantage.” What’s the happiness advantage? It says that thinking positive thoughts makes your brain more productive.

How much more productive? Thirty-one percent more than when your brain is negative, neutral or stressed.

So, how does the happiness advantage work? When you’re happy your brain has a high dose of dopamine present. And there’s an advantage to having all that dopamine in your brain. It turns on all your learning centers. This means your brain can be more productive so you can be more successful.

How can you activate that dopamine to lead to more productivity and success during your day?

Shawn discovered five ways to train your brain to become more positive. They can rewire your brain to think more optimistically when kept up for 21 days.

3 Gratitudes

Allow your brain to refocus on the positive experiences you’ve had. Do this by writing down three things you’re grateful for each day. The Daily Gratitude Journal is a good place to start. It offers several prompts to jog your memory about all you have to be grateful for.

Journaling

Journaling about a positive experience you’ve had in the last 24 hours allows your brain to relive it. This allows you to relive all the positive emotions as well. Check out the Journal of Joy to share with your students!

Exercise

Exercise teaches your brain that behavior matters. When you move you feel the benefits of that movement and that encourages you to keep it up. And an easy way to introduce some movement into your day is with The Daily Mile. This simple program takes you outside to move for 15 minutes. It doesn’t matter how you move. Running, jogging, walking, or rolling are all great ways to do The Daily Mile.

The 21 Day Tracker is a free resource to use to keep moving. Try The Daily Mile for 21 days. Once you’ve experienced the happiness advantage, it will be all the motivation you need to keep going.

Meditation

Allows your brain to refocus and get past the flood of emotions and thoughts by focusing on one task at a time.

Random Acts of Kindness

Do one good thing for someone in your social network. This is another way to train your brain to become more positive. Why not leave a Note of Kindness for a friend or family member to find?

Try these activities, along with The Daily Mile, for 21 days and see if you notice a change in the way you think.

Sign up for the Daily Mile to continue benefiting from the happiness advantage.