The Power of Beliefs
One of my favorite thinkers is out with a powerful new book.
I first saw Shawn Achor speak at a conference in 2018. He’s become one of my favorite thinkers.
He’s a positive-psychology researcher who spent twelve years at Harvard and helped teach “Happiness,” one of the university’s most popular courses.
He’s advised NASA, the NFL, the Pentagon, and more than a third of the Fortune 100.
His TED talk on happiness is among the most viewed of all time.
He’s the author of one of my top 50 leadership books of all time: The Happiness Advantage.
Now his newest book - The Power of Beliefs - is out.
It’s hard to write a book review without you thinking Shawn is paying me for this (he isn’t; I’ve never met him). Or that I’m getting money by putting a bunch of sponsored links here (I’m not doing that either). Also hard: giving you enough about the book to pique your interest without giving away everything.
But I’m going to try.
The core concept: beliefs aren’t limited to what most people think they are. When asked their beliefs, most might mention their political leaning or religious background. But that’s not everything beliefs are. It’s a mechanical lever that changes what actually happens to us in our biology, our attention, and our outcomes.
Achor backs this up with research and anecdotes. My favorite is the “home-field advantage” that vanished during the COVID-era empty stadiums.
He then identifies seven core beliefs such as “my behavior matters” and “I am not alone.” These predict health, success, and resilience with alarming accuracy.
He closes with six strategies for changing a belief that’s holding you back.
The beliefs your team carries into a room shape what’s possible in that room. Same world, different beliefs, different outcome.
I really recommend this book.
Don’t want to read?
Listen to this podcast with Achor and another of my favorite thinkers, Adam Grant: https://shows.acast.com/rethinking/episodes/shawn-achor
His TedTalk - 27 million views as of this writing - is here: https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work