Time to think Happiness

I think therefore I am. Are you? According to Nobel nominee, Edward de Bono you’re not. He believes that we as a culture haven’t really done any thinking (apart from mathematics) since Socrates.

De Bono, who was recently in Australia delivering a keynote speech at the ‘Happiness and Its Causes’ conference,  feels that “poor thinking will only continue to create problems – conflicts, wars, persecutions and so on.” But these are not just problems which are ‘out there’ not affecting our everyday life, but make a big difference to how we interact on a daily basis.

Dedicated to optimism, De Bono also feels that is important to introduce happiness as a consideration in the workplace with the belief that happy people get along and work together well. A notion that seems so simple, yet is overlooked so often.

Claiming that philosophy sterilises the mind, De Bono believes that we have done nothing about thinking as a culture as we felt that philosophy was doing it for us. However, philosophy is concerned with language and not operational thinking or decision making. And it is the knowing how we can think that help us effectively interact with others to get the best results.

Happy people work well together, are more comfortable asking for things without the fear that they will get upset and they communicate better. There is also evidence that happy teams are more productive and have a better ability to ride through the difficult periods.

So coming out of the GFC is it time to reassess priorities – rather than using consumerism as a gauge of self worth, make happiness a priority.

Author and Nobel nominee Edward De Bono’ methods are taught across the corporate world with followers including AT&T, Federal Express and JP Morgan.

Suggested reading includes “Think! Before It’s Too Late” (2009), “The Happiness Purpose” (1990) and “How to Have a Beautiful Mind” (2004).