The Happy Secret - Insights From a Motivational Speaker

In his hilarious and insightful TEDxBloomington talk, psychologist Shawn Achor flips the script on success and happiness. Instead of happiness being the reward for hard work and achievement, he argues, happiness is actually the fuel for success.

Achor opens with a vivid childhood story involving a bunk bed, G.I. Joe, My Little Ponies, and one very gullible younger sister. After she falls off the top bunk and seems ready to cry, young Shawn distracts her with an imaginative twist: “Amy, I think this means you’re a unicorn.” The tears stop instantly. The magic? A mental reframing of reality. This, he says, is the exact principle behind positive psychology: changing the lens through which we see the world changes our experience of it.

Traditionally, psychology focuses on the average. The goal is often to understand what's "normal" and bring everyone to that baseline. Outliers—those who perform above the curve—are often dismissed as statistical noise. But Achor challenges this norm. Why are we trying to normalize people when we could learn from the exceptional instead? Rather than study how to bring people up to average, he wants to learn from those who are already excelling and use that data to lift everyone up.

Achor critiques how we often shift the goalposts of happiness. If success leads to happiness, then we should be happier as we succeed. But what actually happens is this: we succeed, and then we move the goalpost—get the job, now want the promotion; hit the target, now set a higher one. Happiness becomes a horizon that recedes with every step.

But what if we've got it backward?

According to Achor, the formula should be flipped: happiness leads to success. His research at Harvard and beyond shows that when our brains are in a positive state, we’re more productive, more creative, and more engaged. In fact, happiness raises every business and educational outcome, from performance to retention to profitability.

In neuroscience terms, a positive brain releases dopamine, which not only makes you feel good but also turns on learning centers in the brain. This improves your adaptability and intelligence, setting you up for long-term success.

He outlines five habits that can rewire our brains toward a more positive mindset in just 21 days:

1. Gratitude journaling – Write down three new things you’re grateful for each day.

2. Journaling – Record one positive experience every 24 hours.

3. Exercise – Get your body moving to release endorphins and teach your brain behavior matters.

4. Meditation – Train your brain to focus and lower stress.

5. Random acts of kindness – Send one positive message or compliment to someone each day.

These aren’t fluffy self-help tips; they’re evidence-backed strategies for building a positive mindset—one that can reshape your career, your team culture, and your life. And crucially, they don’t require a single external change—just a shift in perception and consistent micro-habits.

Achor’s closing message is a hopeful one: the lens we use to view the world isn’t fixed. It can be trained. And when we train our brains to see the positive, we don’t just become happier—we become better at everything we do. Productivity, creativity, resilience, even leadership all improve when we lead with happiness first.

The real secret?
You don’t chase success and hope happiness catches up. You choose happiness, and success follows. In other words: You don’t need to be a unicorn to make magic happen—but it sure helps to think like one.