The Happy Secret to Better Libraries

Kendra Morgan /

Happiness image via Moyan Brenn on FlickrIt feels safe to say that we can all benefit from a little more happiness in our lives, and to help those around us to do the same. In March, we were fortunate to have Sharon Morris from the Colorado State Library present the webinar, The Pursuit of Happiness…Through Libraries, a program that she and her partner, Peter Bromberg, designed as part of series of leadership institute workshops.

The webinar is an encore presentation of a session Sharon offered on the same topic at the 2014 conference of the Association for Rural and Small Libraries. It was the highest rated session of the conference by attendees!

Sharon's webinar leads you through some of the research on happiness and what happiness can mean to our brains and our lives. She also presents some tips and exercises that can increase your happiness, including positive journaling (the negative kind won't help you here), meditation, and kindness.

One thing that struck me during the webinar is how taking just a short amount of time to do a simple happiness activity can have such a positive impact, giving you the energy and ability to manage the challenges in your work and personal life. It's certainly not a magic bullet for everything, but let's take the help where we can get it!

happy Tuesday image via Kim Tairi on FlickrBefore watching the webinar archive, spend 12 minutes watching The Happy Secret to Better Work, a TED video from psychologist Shawn Achor; you’ll be glad you did! Achor studies how happiness impacts our lives and how to increase happiness in your life.

Many of the WebJunction staff watched the video together and had a discussion about the presentation, which was a great team activity. Achor also has a great presentation style and brings lots of humor to keep you engaged and laughing.

Take an hour today and add some happiness to your day and your life.