Want to be creative? Be happy! Want to make better decisions? Be grumpy! That seems to be the message of research done by psychologist Joseph Forgas, published in Australian Science. He found that happiness is better for creativity, flexibility, cooperation, and reliance on mental shortcuts. Negative moods trigger more attentive, careful thinking and paying greater attention to the external world, resulting in better judgment and crafting effective persuasive messages.
ACTION: The best way to take advantage of these findings may be to try to match the task to your mood - if you're feeling upbeat, do your creative work and if you're feeling downbeat do administrative tasks that require accuracy and decision-making. Alternatively, manipulate your mood to match the task at hand, using music, visualization and movement (e.g. to get more upbeat, listen to upbeat music with which you already have happy associations, do a few minutes of exercise to get your heart rate up, and visualize the positive outcome of whatever you're about to do.) November 2009 Brainstorm E-Bulletin See: www.timetowrite.blogs.com/
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