How to Rewire Your

Brain To Be Happier
& More Productive
Scientifically proven strategies from Scott Crabtree

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This presentation consists of insights inspired by
33voices® interviews with Jenna Abdou.
 Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Learn to Practice Mindfulness Page 4

Chapter 2 - Make Gratitude a Habit Page 12

Chapter 3 - Focus on the Positives Page 33

Chapter 4 - Simple Tricks to Get Into a State of Flow Page 36

Chapter 5 - Make Happiness a Part of Your Culture Page 41

Chapter 6 - The Crucial Case For Making Time Page 49

 Chapter 1

Learn to Practice Mindfulness

Studies have shown that our life circumstances
are only 10% of our overall happiness; Making
the way you respond to your experiences the
most telling indicator of your well-being.
 The most important shift
you can make to change your
behavior is practicing mindfulness:
 The most important shift
you can make to change your
behavior is practicing mindfulness:
Mindfulness is the act of being completely
aware of the present moment
without judgment.
 Practicing mindfulness during
times of stress is the difference between
responding and reacting.
 Try a 4-6-8 breath to ground
yourself in the present moment.
 Close your eyes. Breathe in for
four seconds. Hold the breath for six
seconds, and then breathe out for eight
seconds. Slow breathing signals your
body that you’re safe, calming you down.
 Close your eyes. Breathe in for
four seconds. Hold the breath for six
seconds, and then breathe out for eight
seconds. Slow breathing signals your
body that you’re safe, calming you down.
Pro tip: You can practice the 4-6-8 breath
in public without closing your eyes.
 Chapter 2

Make Gratitude a Habit

 Relationships are the number one indicator
of our happiness. The best way to cultivate
them is to appreciate the people around you.
 Relationships are the number one indicator
of our happiness. The best way to cultivate
them is to appreciate the people around you.
When was the last time you genuinely
said thank you?
 Gratitude is meaningless unless
it’s authentic. The best way to relay your
appreciation is to be specific.
Next time you thank someone touch on:
Next time you thank someone touch on:
Their behavior
Next time you thank someone touch on:
The emotional impact it made on you
Next time you thank someone touch on:
The tangible way it positively affected
your life and/or business
 Here’s an example:
Kevin, Thanks so much for helping me with the
latest company blog. The topic was challenging
for me and it meant a lot that you took the time
to review it. We’ve seen a great response from
our readers and generated new leads.
 Try these strategies to
extend gratitude to your team:
 Try these strategies to
extend gratitude to your team:
Make the first and last email you
send each day a thank you
 Try these strategies to
extend gratitude to your team:
Handwrite one or two thank
you notes each week
 Try these strategies to
extend gratitude to your team:
Keep appreciation cards in the office
for team members to recognize
individuals who support them
 Make gratitude a habit by
keeping a journal. Keeping a gratitude
journal for 30 days will impact your brain
chemistry for months in the future.
 “In that month, you will rewire your brain
to be a more grateful brain. That’s the trick.
To do something repeatedly and intensely
enough that you’re rewiring your brain
to think in a more grateful way.”
 The key to meaningful gratitude is not
to practice it in the same way. Follow different
rituals to avoid hedonic adaptation — when
your brain adjusts to a particular habit.
“Develop a habit that rewires your brain
and then find variations in the way you
express that gratitude - Sometimes
writing it, saying it, or tweeting it.”
 Gratitude not only boosts your
happiness it impacts your confidence too.
“Confident people give credit to those around
them. They build relationships and
happiness in the process.”
 If you don’t feel confident, grateful or happy,
fake it. Studies have shown that when we fake
something enough our body adjusts to it.
 “Saying this is just the way you are is a
cop-out. This is just the way you are today,
in this moment. If you don’t like it you
can rewire your brain to change it.”
Watch Amy Cuddy’s TED Talk to learn how
Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are.
 Chapter 3

Focus on the Positives

 “There is tremendous value in
focusing and feeding what is going right.
In particular, what’s going right with people…
The counterintuitive part about strengths
is that most weaknesses can be made
irrelevant and don’t need to be fixed.”
 “There is tremendous value in
focusing and feeding what is going right.
In particular, what’s going right with people…
The counterintuitive part about strengths
is that most weaknesses can be made
irrelevant and don’t need to be fixed.”

What are you unnecessarily worrying about?

 Chapter 4

Simple Tricks to Get Into

a State of Flow
 When appropriate, turn off invitations
to your addictions such as Twitter, Slack,
Facebook, and email.
For the email obsessed: “Those who check
email more frequently during the day have
higher stress and lower productivity.”
Set routine habits for yourself and your team.
Establish quiet times where team members
can efficiently achieve their daily tasks.
 Plan and prioritize your tasks
for the following day. Learn more
in this First Round Review piece:
The Most Dangerous Leadership Traps — and
the 15-Minute Daily Practice That Will Save You.
 Chapter 5

Make Happiness a
Part of Your Culture:
Remember these tips as you introduce
new cultural practices
Always lead with evidence - Nobody
wants to be told what to do!
Practice what you preach - If you aren’t actively
working on these habits, your team won’t either.
 Our brain contains mirror
neurons, meaning that when you’re
happy and productive the individuals
around you will be too.
 Positive relationships and
emotions boost productivity - The
happier your team members are, the
more successful your business will be.
 Start meetings on a positive note by
having team members recognize individuals
who helped them during the last week.
 Get to know team members outside of their
roles by holding Pecha Kucha presentations:
Visual presentations where individuals bring 10-
20 slides with photos representing
personal parts of their lives.
 Don’t expect an overnight shift - Peyton
Manning wasn’t born throwing Hail Mary’s.
 Chapter 6

The Crucial Case For Making Time

On the days you feel too busy to implement
these practices ask yourself: Why?
On the days you feel too busy to implement
these practices ask yourself: Why?
Why don’t I have time?
On the days you feel too busy to implement
these practices ask yourself: Why?
Why am I so busy?
On the days you feel too busy to implement
these practices ask yourself: Why?
Why am I working so much?
On the days you feel too busy to implement
these practices ask yourself: Why?
Why do I want to be successful?
 On the days you feel too busy to implement
these practices ask yourself: Why?
Why do I want to have the benefits of success?
 “When people say I don’t have time for
happiness I ask them why. Most of what
they’re doing is trying to become happy.”
 “For the first time in human history we have
hard scientific data as to what works to make
us happy. We are chasing things that we think
make us happy, but we are doing it wrong.

You can rewire your brain with virtually every-

thing you think and do…You can see physical
changes in brain structure in under a month if
you do something repeatedly and intensely.”
 The first step to rewiring your brain is
accepting that you have the power to do so.
What will you try?
FEATURED:

Scott Crabtree
Founder of Happy Brain Science

@ScottCrab
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Presentation by Chase Jennings

Insights by Jenna Abdou

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