A happier life? Global speakers share tips on how to achieve it

Wellbeing experts shared their reflections on a purposeful life and positive psychology tools for organizations, education, families, and even cities at the Wellbeing 360 conference.

This event, organized by Tecmilenio’s Institute of Wellbeing and Happiness Sciences, included world-renowned speakers such as Deepak Chopra, Barbara Fredrickson, Richard Davidson, and Tal Ben-Shahar.

CONECTA presents the ideas shared by these and other wellbeing specialists at this year’s conference:

Happiness: internal and external factors that foster it

Deepak Chopra, a prominent physician and author of books on positive psychology and wellbeing, shared his formula for a happy life.

“The fastest way to be happy is to make someone else happy, and you can do that by giving people attention, affection, appreciation, and acceptance.”

“Notice the gifts they have. Tell them you love them. Accept them every day. If we do this with two people and send them out to do it with two more people, we will have a pandemic, not of COVID, but of happiness,” Chopra said.

Richard Davidson, a psychology professor and neuroscience expert, said that wellbeing is a skill that can be learned.

Davidson pointed out that compassion, mindfulness, and kindness generate brain plasticity, meaning that anyone who practices these tools can learn to be happy.

Barbara Fredrickson, who holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University, spoke about the feeling of love, and shared her fundamental theory of positive emotions that she calls “positivity resonance.”

This resonance means that the moment you share a positive emotion with another person, there’s a biochemical synchrony, and there’s mutual interest and care.

Tal-Ben Shahar, author and distinguished professor of positive psychology at Harvard, and Rosalinda Ballesteros, director of the Institute of Wellbeing and Happiness Sciences, reflected on purpose and its impact on happiness.

“The work of purpose is important and central to contributing meaningfully to happiness. It’s also important in that it helps us face difficulties and challenges,” Shahar says.

“The work of purpose is important and central to contributing meaningfully to happiness.” – Tal-Ben Shahar

Ryan Niemiec, director of the VIA Institute on Character, invited reflection on the meaning of life and how people can achieve what is most important to them through relying on their strengths.

“Character strengths are embedded in one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves. We can be aware of them and try to make the most of them to really create paths that allow us to obtain what matters to us,” he said.

Denise Quinlan of the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience shared that adopting a mindset in which success is based on mistakes and failures destroys the myth of perfection.

Patrizio Paoletti, founder of the International School of Self Awareness, said sustainability starts with the mind, saying, “You need to take a step, not forward or backward, but within.”

Positive energy leadership for organizations

Kim Cameron, co-founder of the Center for Positive Organizations at the University of Michigan, noted that positive energy leadership is the most important component in predicting an organization’s success.

If a person gives positive energy to others, this results in increased performance and greater productivity, according to the results of Cameron’s research. 

“The most important finding in the research is that positive energizers not only perform higher but their position in the positive energy network is four times more important in predicting performance,” he says.

Philip Kotler, the father of modern marketing, spoke about how to integrate social causes into business models in his masterclass “Advancing the Common Good as a Business Strategy.”

“If we want to change society’s behaviors, we need a new methodology. I call it cause marketing,” said Kotler.

Luis Gallardo, founder of the World Happiness Foundation, spoke about “happytalism” as a new human paradigm.

“Happy people create value and make the world inclusive and supportive,” he said.

Positive emotions and connection to overcome loneliness and boredom

The lack of knowledge about emotions within social environments has made it difficult for people to identify them, said Marc Brackett, founder of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.

“Emotions influence our day-to-day lives, attention, memory, learning, decision-making and judgment, the quality of social relationships, physical and mental health, effectiveness, and daily performance,” he said.

Anne Johnstone, president-elect of the Positive Education Schools Association (PESA), said one way to build wellbeing in students is to focus on addressing their perception of loneliness.

“The antidote to loneliness is a sense of connection. Just like loneliness, it’s an internal, subjective state. It’s a transient and resonant relationship between two people that can extend to social networks and becomes a shared positive emotion,” she said.

“The antidote to loneliness is a sense of connection. Just like loneliness, it’s an internal, subjective state.” – Anne Johnstone

Rosalinda Ballesteros, director of Tecmilenio’s Institute of Happiness Sciences, shared tips to eradicate boredom in classrooms.

“Boredom is a reaction that’s activated when what we’re doing doesn’t motivate us, and then the brain makes us look for other available options,” explained the director.

To deal with boredom, she said it’s necessary to make learning fun, interesting, and inspiring and capable of generating positive emotions. 

Gilda Scarfe, founder of Positive ED, shared the concept of regeneration as: “A mindset that provides a different adaptation framework in order to create a system that allows us to evolve and respond to the challenges we witness.”

More positive families to impact society

Knowing which stages children are at and using positive parenting tools are elements for building happy families, said Lorena Valera, founder and director of Family Bonds.

Valera defined positive parenting as the study of the conditions and processes that contribute to parents, children, and families thriving.

Through creating meaningful relationships, you cultivate positive emotions. Mindfulness, breathing, and flow activities are tools for parents to generate greater wellbeing.

Journalist Fernanda Familiar was present for the talk “Reflections on COVID-19.”

“Why don’t we give thanks that we’re alive in a year of death, and we’re healthy in a year of disease?” she reflected.

Miguel Isla, advisor to the board at the Foundation for Forgiveness and Reconciliation, explained the importance of healthy coexistence in family and society.

“Each of us is the result of caring for the other,” Isla said.

Cities aligned with people’s wellbeing

Vandana Shiva, an activist from India, spoke about the relationship between wellbeing and our food in conjunction with caring for the planet.

“We have the potential to do something about climate change if we all come together to take care of the planet from the ground up,” she said in her lecture “Creating happiness from food, from the ground up.”

Sergio Fajardo, former mayor of Medellín, Colombia, explained how to work to build an accessible city with opportunities for its inhabitants.

What is Wellbeing 360?

Wellbeing 360 is an event organized by Tecmilenio, a university founded by Tec de Monterrey, with international speakers, panels of experts, and workshops to improve your health and wellbeing.

It’s divided into 5 thematic areas: Positive Organizations, Positive Education, Life with Purpose, Positive Families, and Cities of Wellbeing.

“Integral wellbeing is the state of individuals that contributes to their conscious, constant, and balanced development in different areas and in harmony with their environment,” said David Garza, Rector and Executive President of Tecnológico de Monterrey, when opening the event.

“Wellbeing 360 is committed to providing scientific and empirical knowledge on wellbeing and its benefits,” said Bruno Zepeda, Rector of Tecmilenio.

This year’s event was free and featured more than 150 activities from October 25 to 29.

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