Michelle Gielan - The Biggest Predictors of Happiness and Building a Happy Home

I adore my guest in this episode, the brilliant Michelle Gielan. Michelle has spent the past decade researching the link between happiness and success. She is the bestselling author of "Broadcasting Happiness: The Science of Igniting and Sustaining Positive Change" and was named one of the Top 10 authors on resilience by the Harvard Business Review. She is also an Executive Producer of “The Happiness Advantage” on PBS and a featured professor in Oprah’s Happiness course.  Michelle is an inspiring woman: she was trained as a computer engineer, found her way into broadcast journalism at CBS through sheer persistence and willpower, then began studying positive psychology, reaching star status in the field along with her husband, Shawn Achor. She is a living example of truly subscribing to optimism - defined as expecting good things to happen and understanding the role of your reactions in shaping outcomes of situations. Listen as we discuss:What it really means to be optimisticHow the persistent negativity found in journalism sparked her pursuit of optimism in reporting and beyondHow Michelle and her husband Shawn Achor have been handling the pandemic, or "How a Happiness Household Behaves"Taking calculated risksThe two biggest predictors of happinessThe exercise of Fact Checking for coping with anxietyHer own battle with depressionWhy we often feel we need to hide our optimism in order to gain respectHow the most impactful person in the room is not the most negative or the most positive, but the one who most genuinely expresses their mindset Instagram: @mo_gawdat Facebook: @mo.gawdat.official Twitter: @mgawdat LinkedIn: /in/mogawdat Connect with Michelle Gielan at michellegielan.com and on Facebook @michellegielan, Instagram @michellegielan, and Twitter @michellegielan Don"t forget to subscribe to Slo Mo for new episodes every Monday and Thursday. Only with your help can we reach One Billion Happy #onebillionhappy.  YouTube: @mogawdatofficial Instagram: @mo_gawdat Facebook: @mo.gawdat.official LinkedIn: /in/mogawdat X: @mgawdat Website: mogawdat.com Don"t forget to subscribe to Slo Mo for new episodes every Saturday. Only with your help can we reach One Billion Happy #onebillionhappy