Skip to main content

Shawn Achor: The happy secret to better work - Inspired.

I recently watched a talk on how we view things in life, and how happiness is what inspires productivity. I have long believed it and seen it applied to different areas, particularly when I worked at Google over the summer where I saw how the environment that surrounded us that summer really inspired my work ethic. That stated, I will compile a list of 63 things I am grateful for, writing 3 things every day.

I am grateful for:

February 7, 2012
  • The love my friends and I share.
  • The dedication the College of Computing (and specifically Cedric & Jennifer) put into making me feel at home here, as it has gotten me where I am today.
  • Shawn Achor's inspiring TED talk which has lead me to do this in my life.
February 8, 2012
  • Family, for their loving support.
  • My bicycle for getting me places in Atlanta.
  • My research professor for allowing me to continue pursuing my research.
February 9, 2012
  • My roommates for their understanding of my intense work schedules.
  • My team at SCAD for their great work and dedication.
  • the work my professors put in, it's really life changing.
February 10, 2012
  • my friend Summit, for always being there to talk to.
  • the AS3NUI online community which has provided so much support and great ideas.
  • Microsoft and Primesense for developing the Kinect in such a cost effective manner.
February 11, 2012
  • My girlfriend, for understanding and supporting me through my work.
  • The dedication that everyone puts into what they love doing. It is inspiring to me to see others succeed, it is what makes me want to succeed just as much.
  • The food at Fogo De Chao, that place was amazing.
February 12, 2012
  • The miracle of medicine that have allowed my friends and family to go through rough times and come out healthy.
  • The work that Georgia Tech puts into giving me housing and food at affordable prices, it really helps out.
  • My government and their scholarship program, it has changed my life completely.
February 13, 2012
  • My mother specifically, for helping me and dealing with me and my crazy arguments :p.
  • Google, for taking me on as an intern again this summer, they have really changed my career path, they are great!
  • The dean of the College of Computing, Zvi, for his dedication to help the undergraduates and anything they need.
February 14, 2012
  • Greg for taking me to Whole Foods, that was awesome!
  • My friends, Christine, Colleen and Kiersten, who invited me over last night, sadly I couldn't make it but it was lovely of them to invite me!
  • Matthias, for helping me publish my first paper.
February 15, 2012
  • My colleague Vinay for showing me the great work he has done on the dataset I am working on. It's the closest I've gotten to the step by step process of submitting a paper, aside from the one paper I submitted with the help of another one of my colleagues.
  • Dawn, for being a great person to talk to when I can't work.
  • My colleague Morgon, who gave me sound advice on sleep and taking a break sometimes to not overwhelm myself :).

To be continued :).
Daniel.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Listen closely.

It's game time. The clock is ticking, and you've been sitting around hoping things would get done. Sitting around hoping and dreaming that maybe some day something would fall out of the sky and fall onto you served on a golden platter. You weren't even holding the golden platter -- you were too busy pawning it off for pennies that quickly dwindled because you didn't realize that life was about experiences, not material goods. No one was born to be successful. No one was born to win their awards and to triumph above all. Those people don't exist. Those that were born into money are unfortunate because it is often more difficult for them to realize what struggle is. You were born into those struggles and hurdles, you were born to fight every moment that was going to end your dreams before they even began. The moment you stop fighting, the moment you lose that encouragement, remember that this is all you've got. You have one life, not five. You don't get...
Post a Comment
Read more

Humidity killed the salt shaker. A review of Rosemary Beach and 30A.

What a time to make a new post on my blog. My wife and I are expecting our first child, and we decided on one final trip to the panhandle for our baby moon (the panhandle is a nickname my wife is keen to point out is   absolutely ridiculous given the rest of Florida is not pan-shaped   — even as a Dali painting ). We have been to the panhandle a few times since we have family in Mexico Beach , and we absolutely love that area. We figured we’d treat ourselves to a fancy hotel & spa experience for the time away, and Rosemary Beach ’s The Pearl fit just the bill. On the road down here, we’ve started a tradition of stopping by White Oak Pastures for a good American grass-fed single-estate burger. Single-estate is a joking reference to the book A Bold Return to Giving a Damn , written by the owner of White Oak Pastures, Will Harris , which is, no exaggeration, how we save America. First thing — read the book, and eat some good local meat from animals that have lived a damn go...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dazed and confused.

I kind of came to the conclusion that I needed to write this when I realized that I had gotten a little lost at work. I can go a little crazy with the number of things I try to do at any given time and well, that kind of work can easily overwhelm me. However, over the past few days I have realized and resparked my desire and love for the process. It may sound a bit abstract but its a common theme among those who find themselves fortunate enough to enjoy every minute of every day of work. You see, a lot of life is a matter of perspective. A quick glimpse into consumer behavior and the study of a capitalistic society will tell you that people are very predictable and marketable beings. A few years ago Matthew McConaughey gave a fantastic talk to the University of Houston, where he stated the following: "See, joy is always in process, under construction — it’s in the constant approach, alive and well —in the doing of what we are fashioned to do… and enjoying doing it." and ...
Post a Comment
Read more