🥳 The Science of Celebration

It’s been awhile since the last One-Minute! To start the fall and end this week on a joyful note— today’s topic is celebration. 🥂

Humans have a negativity bias, a tendency toward noticing threats in the environment. This instinct has kept human beings alive as a species, but hasn’t done much to foster happiness in the modern world. Our brains will always notice dangers in an effort to keep us safe, but we also need to make sure our brains notice positive things— in equal or greater measure— to nurture our overall happiness and well-being. To do this, you need to teach your brain to notice positives and celebrate them.

In effect, the modern human must rewire their brain for happiness and SYSTEMATIC CELEBRATION is the way we do that!

Research shows that holding (focusing on) an experience for 20 seconds is long enough to create positive structural changes in the brain. Doing this repeatedly helps shift our brain and bodies to look for “wins” versus excessive seeking of potential “danger”.

NEUROCHEMICALS

The happiness you feel with celebration also causes an increase in important neurochemicals. There is a surge of feel-good chemicals that make up the happiness cocktail:  
* Dopamine is your own personal motivation machine.  It is the secret to getting pumped and hitting goals. 

* Serotonin regulates mood.  Healthy levels of serotonin keep you feeling happy.  Low levels of serotonin are linked to depression. 

* Endorphins are the chemicals searing through your body when you finish a run, giving you the feeling of being on top of the world. 

Celebrations Are A Neurochemical Triple Threat

Dopamine can be triggered by reward, serotonin by community, and endorphins by laughter.  Celebrations are a medley of all three triggers, and all three neurotransmitters combined contribute to the feelings of closeness, connection, and happiness that come with celebrations large and small. 

Solo Celebration Habits 🙏

The Three Good Things exercise, also known as “The Three Blessings,” is arguably one of the most wellknown positive psychology interventions. This exercise entails writing down 3 things that went well and reflecting on these things at the end of each day (Seligman, et al, 2005). In a study by Seligman, participants were asked to write down three good things that happened to them each day, for one week.

The results showed that this daily activity had a significant impact on reported levels of well-being and depression. Moreover, for participants who continued the exercise beyond the suggested 1 week, it was found that the activity increased happiness and decreased symptoms of depression for up to 6 months of follow-up. In another study, reported in Seligman’s book Authentic happiness, even more profound effects were observed. Work this Solo Celebration Habit into your evening ritual— the science says it works.

The Science of Team Celebration 👯‍♂️

When we receive public praise and support, we unlock these powerful set of neurochemical patterns that cascade positive chemistry throughout the brain— the Happiness Cocktail returns. Highly motivated employees describe the feeling of performing well as an almost drug-like state.

Numerous studies show how the brain processes reward information. “When something is really good, you go back for it again,” he says. “Thus, by praising the accomplishments of a colleague or employee amongst their peers, we are contributing to creating healthy behavioral patterns that will be repeated more often. Celebration and dopamine is a reward to our brains like treats are to animals.” Wolfram (Cambridge, 2002)

Group Celebration Reduces Bad Chemicals 🪩

While elevating the level of “feel good” hormones with positive conversations, the level of cortisol is significantly lowered. Cortisol has been shown to damage and kill cells in the hippocampus (the brain area responsible for your episodic memory) and there is robust evidence that excessive cortisol shuts down learning, creates anxiety attacks, can cause depression, and premature brain-aging.

The words of acknowledgement, encouragement, and support, especially when granted to a person under much stress, calms their amygdala- their mediated response of fight-flight-freeze - allowing them to move into a more thoughtful and calm state.

So, for this weekend— how will you celebrate? Who can you celebrate and praise on your team? What are 3 things that went well today?

Rooting for you, 
CoachSK