The Future of Happiness : 5 Modern Strategies for Balancing Productivity and Well-Being in the Digital Era

Introduction -- The three burning questions of the digital era -- The five strategies for balancing productivity and well-being. Strategy #1: Stay grounded ; Strategy # 2: Know thyself ; Strategy #3: Train your brain ; Strategy #4: Create a habitat for happiness ; Strategy #: Innovate consciously -- A concluding letter -- Summary of key points.;"Technology-at least in theory-is improving our productivity, efficiency, and communication. The one thing it's not doing is making us happier. We are experiencing historically high levels of depression and dissatisfaction. But it doesn't have to be that way. Technology can drive-not diminish-human happiness. Our brains receive 11 million bits of information every second but can only process 40 bits at any given time. Thanks to the latest technology, you have a say in what information you consume. We now have the tools to train our brains to scan the world for the positive, trumping our genes and our environment to reach our full potential. Knowing that technology is here to stay and will continue to evolve in form and function, we need to know how to navigate the future to achieve a better balance between technology, productivity, and wellbeing. In The Future of Happiness, author Amy Blankson, co-founder of the global positive psychology consulting firm GoodThink, unveils five strategies that successful individuals can use to not just survive-but to actually thrive-in the Digital Age: Stay grounded to focus and channel your energy with intention Know thyself through app-driven data to strive toward your potential Train your brain to develop and sustain an optimistic mindset Create a habitat for happiness to maximize the spaces and places in which you live, work, and learn Be a conscious innovator to actively shape your future By rethinking when, where, why and how you use technology, you will not only able to influence your own wellbeing but also help shape the future of your community. Discover how futuristic technologies can transform the idea of "I'll be happy when." to your way of being now"--;Technology is improving our productivity, efficiency, and communication-- but it's not making us happier. Knowing that technology is here to stay and will continue to evolve in form and function, we need to know how to navigate the future to achieve a better balance between technology, productivity, and wellbeing. Blankson unveils five strategies that successful individuals can use to not just survive- but to actually thrive- in the Digital Age. "Technology--at least in theory--is improving our productivity, efficiency, and communication. The one thing it's not doing is making us happier. We are experiencing historically high levels of depression and dissatisfaction. But it doesn't have to be that way. Technology can drive--not diminish--human happiness. Our brains receive 11 million bits of information every second but can only process 40 bits at any given time. Thanks to the latest technology, you have a say in what information you consume. We now have the tools to train our brains to scan the world for the positive, trumping our genes and our environment to reach our full potential. Knowing that technology is here to stay and will continue to evolve in form and function, we need to know how to navigate the future to achieve a better balance between technology, productivity, and wellbeing. In The Future of Happiness, author Amy Blankson, co-founder of the global positive psychology consulting firm GoodThink, unveils five strategies that successful individuals can use to not just survive--but to actually thrive--in the Digital Age: Stay grounded by managing our use of technology and recognizing that distraction is a choice; Think smaller by using technology as a sixth sense to better understand ourselves and the world around us; Train your brain by utilizing emerging technologies to develop and sustain an optimistic mindset; Create a habitat for happiness by designing our spaces for greater happiness and de-cluttering our environments and minds; [and] Be a conscious innovator by leveraging existing technology to actively shape our future. By rethinking when, where, why and how we use technology, we're not only able to influence our own wellbeing but also help shape the future of our communities. Discover how futuristic technologies can transform the idea of "I'll be happy when . . ." to your way of being now."--Provided by publisher Praise for The Future of Happiness 2 CONTENTS 10 INTRODUCTION 16 Part One: THE THREE BURNINGQUESTIONS OF THE DIGITAL ERA 22 WHERE ARE WE HEADING? LURED BY THE LIGHTS 24 WOULD WE BE BETTER WITHOUT TECH? BEFORE PANDORA’S BOX 29 WHAT WILL HAPPINESS LOOK LIKE? 34 Part Two: THE FIVE STRATEGIES FOR BALANCING PRODUCTIVITY AND WELL-BEING 38 STRATEGY #1: STAY GROUNDED 40 HOW TO FOCUS AND CHANNEL YOUR ENERGY WITH INTENTION 40 THE CHALLENGE: NAVIGATING DIGITAL DISTRACTION AND ADDICTION 41 THE STRATEGY: GROUNDING OURSELVES WITH INTENTION 50 STRATEGY #2: KNOW THYSELF 68 HOW QUANTIFYING YOURSELF HELPS ELIMINATE LIMITING BELIEFS ON YOUR POTENTIAL 68 THE CHALLENGE: RECOGNIZING LIMITING BELIEFS 69 THE STRATEGY: MAGNIFYING YOUR MICRODECISIONS 73 STRATEGY #3: TRAIN YOUR BRAIN 90 HOW TO PUT TOGETHER THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF A SMARTER, HAPPIER MIND 90 THE CHALLENGE: DEALING WITH A BRAIN THAT HAS A MIND OF ITS OWN 92 THE STRATEGY: OPTIMIZING YOUR MINDSET 94 STRATEGY #4: CREATE A HABITAT FOR HAPPINESS 116 HOW TO BUILD GREATER HAPPINESS INTO OUR HOMES, WORKPLACES, AND COMMUNITIES 116 THE CHALLENGE: DECIDING IF TECHNOLOGY IS OUR FRIEND OR FOE 117 THE STRATEGY: RESHAPING SPACES, PLACES, AND THE FENCES IN BETWEEN 119 STRATEGY #5: INNOVATE CONSCIOUSLY 168 HOW TO USE YOUR INNATE POWER TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY AND HAPPINESS 168 THE CHALLENGE: SEEKING A HAPPINESS UPGRADE 169 THE STRATEGY: CREATING A BALANCED NEW WORLD 172 A CONCLUDING LETTER 192 SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS 194 GLOSSARY 198 TECHNOLOGY REFERENCED 202 NOTES 208 INDEX 226 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 235 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 239 ABOUT GOODTHINK 240 Technology, at least in theory, is improving our productivity, efficiency, and communication. The one thing it's not doing is making us happier. We are experiencing historically high levels of depression and dissatisfaction. But we can change that. Knowing that technology is here to stay and will continue to evolve in form and function, we need to know how to navigate the future to achieve a better balance between technology, productivity, and well-being. Technology can drive—not diminish—human happiness. In The Future of Happiness, author Amy Blankson, cofounder of the global positive psychology consulting firm GoodThink, unveils five strategies successful individuals can use, not just to survive—but actually thrive—in the Digital Age: • Stay Grounded to focus your energy and increase productivity • Know Thyself through app-driven data to strive toward your potential • Train Your Brain to develop and sustain an optimistic mindset • Create a Habitat for Happiness to maximize the spaces where you live, work, and learn • Be a Conscious Innovator to help make the world a better place By rethinking when, where, why, and how you use technology, you will not only influence your own well-being but also help shape the future of your community. Discover how technologies can transform the idea of "I'll be happy when . . ." to being happy now. Technology, at least in theory, is improving our productivity, efficiency, and communication. The one thing it's not doing is making us happier. We are experiencing historically high levels of depression and dissatisfaction. But we can change that. Knowing that technology is here to stay and will continue to evolve in form and function, we need to know how to navigate the future to achieve a better balance between technology, productivity, and well-being. Technology can drive—not diminish—human happiness. In The Future of Happiness , author Amy Blankson, cofounder of the global positive psychology consulting firm GoodThink, unveils five strategies successful individuals can use, not just to survive—but actually thrive—in the Digital Age: • Stay Grounded to focus your energy and increase productivity • Know Thyself through app-driven data to strive toward your potential • Train Your Brain to develop and sustain an optimistic mindset • Create a Habitat for Happiness to maximize the spaces where you live, work, and learn • Be a Conscious Innovator to help make the world a better place By rethinking when, where, why, and how you use technology, you will not only influence your own well-being but also help shape the future of your community. Discover how technologies can transform the idea of "I'll be happy when . . ." to being happy now .