That’s a Wrap! How to Use the WRAP Model to Be More Decisive

How can you make good decisions when you’re creating something new? If you’re like us, you may find that the WRAP model (from the book Decisive) provides a great roadmap: Widen your options, Reality-test your assumptions, Attain distance before deciding, and Prepare to be wrong. Diving into Decisiveness At Happy Brain Science, we’re developing an read more…

Why I Decided to Invest in the Benefits of Collaboration

Can collaboration help you make progress while also boosting your mood? Absolutely! Join us behind the scenes as Scott Crabtree, founder of Happy Brain Science, develops Choose Happiness @ Work Online—the online version of our popular card game! We’ve received many requests for a version to play with remote teams, and Scott is working to read more…

Why It’s Smart to Challenge Binary Decisions and Get Help

What are binary decisions, and why are they usually a bad idea? And what does asking for help have to do with psychological safety—the crucial feeling of shared trust that leads to great team performance? Join us behind the scenes as Scott Crabtree, founder of Happy Brain Science, develops Choose Happiness @ Work Online—the online read more…

Tackling Fear, Psychological Safety, and Progress

Got psychological safety? Join us behind the scenes as Scott Crabtree, founder of Happy Brain Science, develops Choose Happiness @ Work Online—the online version of our popular card game! We’ve received many requests for a version to play with remote teams, and Scott is working to make that a reality! What challenges will he face? read more…

Choose Happiness @ Work Online: Behind the Scenes

Join us behind the scenes as Scott Crabtree develops Choose Happiness @ Work Online—the online version of our popular card game! We’ve received many requests for a version to play with remote teams, and Scott is working to make that a reality! What challenges will he face? What obstacles will he overcome? And most importantly: read more…

How to Boost Psychological Capital & Beat Burnout

Thanks to Noah Jacobson for this guest post about preventing and dealing with burnout! Noah interned previously with Happy Brain Science and became fascinated with the application of positive psychology. He graduated from Grinnell College with a degree in Psychology and Neuroscience. If You’re Heading Toward Burnout… Work and life move at a different speed read more…

How to Spot Strengths to Boost Engagement & Results

Spot Strengths: A Story Adam was a few months into his new job as a Technical Lead. Fortunately, both he and his boss, Chris, thought he was doing pretty well. However, Adam felt a bit concerned about his tendency to ask questions about how different decisions would play out over time. Every time a colleague read more…

Diaries of a Recovering Cynic

This guest post about choosing happiness at work (and in life) is by Catherine Wheeler. Thanks, Catherine! Picture this…City woman moves back to her small hometown to care for a family member. She leaves her dream job to start a new job and now faces the unknown on all fronts ⁠— a new team in a read more…

Character vs. Circumstance: The Fundamental Attribution Error

What is the Fundamental Attribution Error, how does it make your work harder, and how can you fix it? Let me explain, starting with a story: Imagine a busy work week, where everyone has a backlog of tasks assigned plus a critical deadline coming up. You committed to delivering an article for your company’s blog read more…

What Does Happiness Have to Do with Employee Engagement?

Should you be more focused on happiness or engagement at work? And is it possible to achieve both at the same time? Some people claim that happiness and employee engagement have nothing to do with each other. For example, they point out that a person can feel very happy chatting by the water cooler, or read more…