ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Shawn Achor - Psychologist
Shawn Achor is the CEO of Good Think Inc., where he researches and teaches about positive psychology.

Why you should listen

Shawn Achor is the winner of over a dozen distinguished teaching awards at Harvard University, where he delivered lectures on positive psychology in the most popular class at Harvard.
 
He is the CEO of Good Think Inc., a Cambridge-based consulting firm which researches positive outliers -- people who are well above average -- to understand where human potential, success and happiness intersect. Based on his research and 12 years of experience at Harvard, he clearly and humorously describes to organizations how to increase happiness and meaning, raise success rates and profitability, and create positive transformations that ripple into more successful cultures. He is also the author of The Happiness Advantage.

More profile about the speaker
Shawn Achor | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxBloomington

Shawn Achor: The happy secret to better work

Shawn Achor: o feliz secreto para traballar mellor

Filmed:
21,573,773 views

Cremos que hai que traballar para ser felices, pero podería ser ó revés? Nesta dinámica e entretida charla de TEDxBloomington, o psicólogo Shawn Achor afirma que en realidade a felicidade estimula a productividade.
- Psychologist
Shawn Achor is the CEO of Good Think Inc., where he researches and teaches about positive psychology. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:15
When I was seven years old and my sister was just five years old,
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Cando eu tiña sete anos
e a miña irmá tiña só cinco,
00:18
we were playing on top of a bunk bed.
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xogabamos na parte derriba
dunha liteira.
00:21
I was two years older than my sister at the time --
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Eu tiña dous anos máis ca ela
naquel momento --
00:23
I mean, I'm two years older than her now --
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quero dicir, sigo sendo dous anos maior --
00:26
but at the time it meant she had to do everything that I wanted to do,
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pero entón significaba
que ela tiña que facer o que eu dixera,
00:29
and I wanted to play war.
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e eu quería xogar á guerra.
00:31
So we were up on top of our bunk beds.
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Estabamos enriba das nosas liteiras
00:33
And on one side of the bunk bed,
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e dun lado
00:35
I had put out all of my G.I. Joe soldiers and weaponry.
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tiña todo o meu armamento
e soldados G.I. Joe.,
00:37
And on the other side were all my sister's My Little Ponies
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e do outro lado,
estaban todos os ponis da miña irmá
00:40
ready for a cavalry charge.
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preparados para unha batalla de cabalería.
00:42
There are differing accounts of what actually happened that afternoon,
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Hai distintas versións
sobre o que pasou aquela tarde,
00:44
but since my sister is not here with us today,
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pero como a miña irmá non está aquí hoxe,
00:47
let me tell you the true story --
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voulles contar o que ocorreu realmente --
00:49
(Laughter) --
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(Risas) --
00:51
which is my sister's a little bit on the clumsy side.
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que deixa á miña irmá coma unha torpe.
00:53
Somehow, without any help or push from her older brother at all,
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Dalgún modo, sen ningunha axuda
ou empurrón do seu irmá maior,
00:56
suddenly Amy disappeared off of the top of the bunk bed
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de repente Amy desapareceu de enriba da liteira
00:58
and landed with this crash on the floor.
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e se deu un golpe contra o chan.
01:00
Now I nervously peered over the side of the bed
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Nese momento asomeime nervioso
01:02
to see what had befallen my fallen sister
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para ver que quen caera fora miña irmá,
01:05
and saw that she had landed painfully on her hands and knees
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e vin que o fixera con moita dor
sobre as súas mans e xeonllos
01:07
on all fours on the ground.
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cos catro sobre o chan.
01:09
I was nervous because my parents had charged me
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Eu estaba nervoso
porque os meus pais dixéranme
01:11
with making sure that my sister and I
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que me asegurase
de que a miña irmá e mais eu
01:13
played as safely and as quietly as possible.
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xogásemos con tanto coidado e silencio
como fose posible.
01:16
And seeing as how I had accidentally broken Amy's arm
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E vendo como accidentalmente
eu mesmo rompera o brazo de Amy
01:19
just one week before ...
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só unha semana antes...
01:21
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
01:25
... heroically pushing her out of the way
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... ó apartala de maneira heroica
da traxectoria
01:27
of an oncoming imaginary sniper bullet,
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dunha bala disparada
por un francotirador imaxinario,
01:30
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
01:32
for which I have yet to be thanked,
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algo que aínda non me agradeceu,
01:34
I was trying as hard as I could --
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eu intentaba con todas as miñas forzas --
01:36
she didn't even see it coming --
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ela nin sequera a vira vir --
01:38
I was trying as hard as I could to be on my best behavior.
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intentaba con todas as miñas forzas
portarme o mellor posible.
01:40
And I saw my sister's face,
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Entón vin a cara da miña irmá,
01:42
this wail of pain and suffering and surprise
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xemendo de dor, sufrimento e sorpresa
01:44
threatening to erupt from her mouth and threatening to wake
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ameazando con que a súa boca explotase
e ameazando con espertar ós meus pais,
01:46
my parents from the long winter's nap for which they had settled.
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que se acababan de botar a durmir a sesta.
01:49
So I did the only thing
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Entón fixen o único
01:51
my little frantic seven year-old brain could think to do to avert this tragedy.
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que ó meu pequeno cerebro de sete anos
se lle ocorreu para evitar esa traxedia.
01:54
And if you have children, you've seen this hundreds of times before.
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Se teñen fillos,
terán visto isto centos de veces.
01:56
I said, "Amy, Amy, wait. Don't cry. Don't cry.
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Dixen: "Amy, Amy, espera.
Non chores. Non chores.
01:58
Did you see how you landed?
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Viches cómo caeches?
02:00
No human lands on all fours like that.
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Ninguén cae así, a catro patas.
02:03
Amy, I think this means you're a unicorn."
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Amy, creo que isto quere dicir
que es un unicornio".
02:06
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
02:09
Now that was cheating, because there was nothing in the world my sister would want more
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Iso era un engano, porque non había
nada no mundo que a miña irmá quixese máis
02:12
than not to be Amy the hurt five year-old little sister,
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que non ser Amy,
a irmá pequena de cinco anos ferida,
02:14
but Amy the special unicorn.
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senón ser Amy, o unicornio especial.
02:16
Of course, this was an option that was open to her brain at no point in the past.
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Por suposto, esta era unha opción
na que o seu cerebro non pensara.
02:19
And you could see how my poor, manipulated sister faced conflict,
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Se puidesen ver como a miña pobre irmá,
manipulada, se enfrentaba ó conflicto
02:22
as her little brain attempted to devote resources
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de decidir entre que o seu cerebro
adicase recursos
02:24
to feeling the pain and suffering and surprise
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a sentir a dor, sufrimento e sorpresa
02:26
she just experienced,
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que acababa de pasar
02:28
or contemplating her new-found identity as a unicorn.
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ou a centrarse na súa nova identidade
como unicornio.
02:30
And the latter won out.
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E este último gañou.
02:32
Instead of crying, instead of ceasing our play,
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En vez de chorar,
en vez de parar de xogar,
02:34
instead of waking my parents,
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en vez de espertar ós meus pais,
02:36
with all the negative consequences that would have ensued for me,
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con todas as consecuencias negativas
que me acarrearía,
02:38
instead a smile spread across her face
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en vez diso un sorriso iluminou a súa cara
02:40
and she scrambled right back up onto the bunk bed with all the grace of a baby unicorn ...
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e volveu a enriba da liteira
con toda a graza dun bebé unicornio...
02:43
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
02:45
... with one broken leg.
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... cunha pata rota.
02:47
What we stumbled across
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Co que nos topamos
02:49
at this tender age of just five and seven --
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á tenra idade de cinco e sete anos --
02:51
we had no idea at the time --
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non tiñamos nin idea naquel momento --
02:53
was something that was going be at the vanguard of a scientific revolution
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foi algo que se convertiría
na vangarda dunha revolución científica
02:56
occurring two decades later in the way that we look at the human brain.
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e que tería lugar dúas décadas despois
no modo de ver o cerebro humano.
02:59
What we had stumbled across is something called positive psychology,
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Co que nos topamos foi con algo
chamado psicoloxía positiva
03:02
which is the reason that I'm here today
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que é o motivo polo que estou hoxe aquí
03:04
and the reason that I wake up every morning.
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e a razón pola que me levanto cada mañá.
03:06
When I first started talking about this research
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A primeira vez que falei desta investigación
03:08
outside of academia, out with companies and schools,
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fóra do ámbito académico,
en compañías e escolas,
03:10
the very first thing they said to never do
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a primeira cousa que dixeron
que nunca se fixese
03:12
is to start your talk with a graph.
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foi a de empezar un discurso cun gráfico.
03:14
The very first thing I want to do is start my talk with a graph.
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O primeiro que quero facer
é empezar o meu discurso cun gráfico.
03:16
This graph looks boring,
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Este gráfico parece aburrido,
03:18
but this graph is the reason I get excited and wake up every morning.
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pero esta é a razón pola que me entusiasmo
e me levanto cada mañá.
03:20
And this graph doesn't even mean anything; it's fake data.
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E este gráfico nin sequera significa nada;
os datos son falsos.
03:22
What we found is --
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O que descubrimos foi --
03:24
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
03:28
If I got this data back studying you here in the room, I would be thrilled,
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Encantaríame volver a conseguir
estes datos estudándoos a vostedes
03:31
because there's very clearly a trend that's going on there,
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porque existe
unha clara tendencia aí fóra,
03:33
and that means that I can get published,
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e é que me poden publicar,
03:35
which is all that really matters.
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e iso é o máis importante.
03:37
The fact that there's one weird red dot that's up above the curve,
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O feito de que haxa un punto vermello raro
por enriba da curva,
03:39
there's one weirdo in the room --
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que haxa un bicho raro na sala --
03:41
I know who you are, I saw you earlier --
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sei quen es, vinte antes --
03:44
that's no problem.
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non é un problema.
03:46
That's no problem, as most of you know,
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Non é un problema,
coma a maioría de vostedes saberá,
03:48
because I can just delete that dot.
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porque podo borrar ese punto fácilmente.
03:50
I can delete that dot because that's clearly a measurement error.
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Podo borrar ese punto
porque claramente é un erro de medición.
03:52
And we know that's a measurement error
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E sabemos que é un erro de medición
03:54
because it's messing up my data.
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porque está estropeando os meus datos.
03:57
So one of the very first things we teach people
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Entón, unha das primeiras cousas
que ensinamos
03:59
in economics and statistics and business and psychology courses
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nos cursos de economía, estadística,
empresariais e psicoloxía
04:02
is how, in a statistically valid way, do we eliminate the weirdos.
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é como, dun modo estadísticamente válido,
eliminamos ós bichos raros.
04:05
How do we eliminate the outliers
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Como eliminamos ós estraños
04:07
so we can find the line of best fit?
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para atopar a liña que mellor se axuste?
04:09
Which is fantastic if I'm trying to find out
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O que é fantástico
se estou intentado descubrir
04:11
how many Advil the average person should be taking -- two.
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cantos Advil debería tomar
unha persoa normal -- dous.
04:14
But if I'm interested in potential, if I'm interested in your potential,
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Pero se me interesa o potencial,
se me interesa o seu potencial,
04:16
or for happiness or productivity
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xa sea pola felicidade ou a productividade
04:18
or energy or creativity,
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ou a enerxía ou a creatividade
04:20
what we're doing is we're creating the cult of the average with science.
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o que estamos facendo é crear
o culto pola media por parte da ciencia.
04:22
If I asked a question like,
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Se preguntara algo como:
04:24
"How fast can a child learn how to read in a classroom?"
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"En canto tempo aprende un neno
a ler nunha aula?"
04:26
scientists change the answer to "How fast does the average child
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os científicos cambian a pregunta a:
"Canto tempo tarda un neno medio
04:28
learn how to read in that classroom?"
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en aprender a ler nunha aula?"
04:30
and then we tailor the class right towards the average.
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e logo adaptamos a clase á media.
04:32
Now if you fall below the average on this curve,
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Entón, se alguén queda por debaixo
da media nesta curva,
04:34
then psychologists get thrilled,
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os psicólogos se emocionan,
04:36
because that means you're either depressed or you have a disorder,
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porque iso significa que ou está deprimido
ou ten algunha alteración,
04:39
or hopefully both.
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ou con sorte as dúas cousas.
04:41
We're hoping for both because our business model is,
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Esperamos que sexan os dous
porque o noso modelo de negocios
04:43
if you come into a therapy session with one problem,
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consiste en que se alguén ven
a unha sesión de terapia cun problema,
04:45
we want to make sure you leave knowing you have 10,
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queremos asegurarnos
de que se vaia sabendo que ten 10,
04:47
so you keep coming back over and over again.
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para que así siga vindo unha e outra vez.
04:49
We'll go back into your childhood if necessary,
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Nos remitiremos
á súa infancia se é preciso,
04:51
but eventually what we want to do is make you normal again.
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pero ó final o que queremos
é que volva a ser normal.
04:53
But normal is merely average.
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Pero normal é só unha media.
04:55
And what I posit and what positive psychology posits
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E o que eu propoño,
e o que a psicoloxía positiva propón,
04:57
is that if we study what is merely average,
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é que se estudamos
o que é simplemente a media,
04:59
we will remain merely average.
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seguiremos sendo da media.
05:01
Then instead of deleting those positive outliers,
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Entón, en vez de eliminar
a eses estraños positivos,
05:03
what I intentionally do is come into a population like this one
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o que fago eu de maneira intencionada
é dirixirme a unha poboación coma esta
05:05
and say, why?
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e dicir "por que?"
05:07
Why is it that some of you are so high above the curve
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Por que algúns de vostedes
están tan por enriba da curva
05:09
in terms of your intellectual ability, athletic ability, musical ability,
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en canto ás súas abilidades intelectuais,
atléticas, musicais,
05:11
creativity, energy levels,
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a súa creatividade,
os seus niveis de enerxía,
05:13
your resiliency in the face of challenge, your sense of humor?
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a súa resilencia para afrontar os problemas
ou o seu sentido do humor?
05:15
Whatever it is, instead of deleting you, what I want to do is study you.
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Sexa o que sexa, en vez de eliminalos,
o que eu quero facer é estudalos.
05:18
Because maybe we can glean information --
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Porque ó mellor podemos
extraer información --
05:20
not just how to move people up to the average,
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non só sobre como elevar
á xente hacia a media,
05:22
but how we can move the entire average up
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senón sobre como elevar a media
05:25
in our companies and schools worldwide.
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nas nosas compañías
e escolas de todo o mundo.
05:27
The reason this graph is important to me
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O motivo polo que este gráfico
é importante para min
05:29
is, when I turn on the news, it seems like the majority of the information
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é porque, cando poño o telexornal,
parece que a maioría da información
05:31
is not positive, in fact it's negative.
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non é positiva, de feito é negativa.
05:33
Most of it's about murder, corruption, diseases, natural disasters.
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A maioría trata sobre asasinatos,
corrupción, enfermidades, desastres naturais.
05:36
And very quickly, my brain starts to think
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E rapidamente,
o meu cerebro empeza a pensar
05:38
that's the accurate ratio of negative to positive in the world.
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que esa é a proporción fiel
entre o negativo e o positivo do mundo.
05:40
What that's doing is creating something
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O que iso está facendo é crear algo
05:42
called the medical school syndrome --
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chamado síndrome
do estudante de medicina --
05:44
which, if you know people who've been to medical school,
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se coñecen persoas que estudaron medicina,
05:46
during the first year of medical training,
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durante o primeiro ano de carreira,
05:48
as you read through a list of all the symptoms and diseases that could happen,
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conforme van lendo unha lista de todos os síntomas
e enfermidades que se poden padecer,
05:50
suddenly you realize you have all of them.
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de repente danse conta
de que os sufren todos.
05:52
I have a brother in-law named Bobo -- which is a whole other story.
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Teño un cuñado que se chama Bobo --
iso é unha historia completamente diferente.
05:55
Bobo married Amy the unicorn.
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Bobo casouse con Amy o unicornio.
05:58
Bobo called me on the phone
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Un día chamoume por teléfono
06:01
from Yale Medical School,
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desde a facultade de medicina de Yale
06:04
and Bobo said, "Shawn, I have leprosy."
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e dixo: "Shawn, teño a lepra".
06:06
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
06:08
Which, even at Yale, is extraordinarily rare.
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Que, incluso en Yale, é moi pouco común.
06:10
But I had no idea how to console poor Bobo
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Pero eu non tiña nin idea
de como consolar ó pobre Bobo
06:13
because he had just gotten over an entire week of menopause.
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porque acababa de pasar
por unha semana enteira de menopausia.
06:15
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
06:17
See what we're finding is it's not necessarily the reality that shapes us,
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Como ven, o que estamos descubrindo
non é a realidade que nos da forma,
06:20
but the lens through which your brain views the world that shapes your reality.
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senón a lente a través da que o cerebro
ve o mundo que da forma á realidade de cada un.
06:23
And if we can change the lens, not only can we change your happiness,
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E se podemos cambiar a lente,
non só poderemos cambiar a nosa felicidade,
06:26
we can change every single educational and business outcome at the same time.
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senón que poderemos cambiar cada resultado educativo
e empresarial ó mesmo tempo.
06:29
When I applied to Harvard, I applied on a dare.
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Cando solicitei plaza en Harvard,
solicitei plaza para un desafío.
06:31
I didn't expect to get in, and my family had no money for college.
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Non esperaba que me aceptasen, e a miña familia
non tiña diñeiro para a universidade.
06:34
When I got a military scholarship two weeks later, they allowed me to go.
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Cando conseguín unha beca militar
dúas semanas despois, deixáronme ir.
06:36
Suddenly, something that wasn't even a possibility became a reality.
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De repente, algo que non era posible
se fixo realidade.
06:39
When I went there, I assumed everyone else would see it as a privilege as well,
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Cando fun alí, pensei que todos os demais
tamén o verían coma un privilexio,
06:42
that they'd be excited to be there.
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que estarían emocionados por estar alí.
06:44
Even if you're in a classroom full of people smarter than you,
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Aínda que esteamos nunha aula chea de xente
máis intelixente ca nós,
06:46
you'd be happy just to be in that classroom, which is what I felt.
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estaremos contentos simplemente
por estar nesa aula, e iso é o que eu sentía.
06:48
But what I found there
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Pero co que me topei alí
06:50
is, while some people experience that,
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foi que, aínda que algunhas persoas
senten iso,
06:52
when I graduated after my four years
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cando me graduei despois de catro anos
06:54
and then spent the next eight years living in the dorms with the students --
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e logo pasei os seguintes oito vivindo
nas residencias de estudantes --
06:56
Harvard asked me to; I wasn't that guy.
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foi Harvard quen mo pediu,
eu non era esa clase de rapaz.
06:59
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
07:03
I was an officer of Harvard to counsel students through the difficult four years.
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Era un encargado de Harvard para asesorar
ós estudantes durante os duros catro anos.
07:06
And what I found in my research and my teaching
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E co que me topei nas miñas investigacións
e nas miñas clases
07:08
is that these students, no matter how happy they were
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foi que estes estudantes, independentemente
do felices que tivesen sido
07:10
with their original success of getting into the school,
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polo éxito de entrar na universidade,
07:13
two weeks later their brains were focused, not on the privilege of being there,
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dúas semanas despois os seus cerebros
non estaban centrados na sorte de estar alí,
07:16
nor on their philosophy or their physics.
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nin na súa filosofía ou a súa física.
07:18
Their brain was focused on the competition, the workload,
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Os seus cerebros estaban centrados
na competición, na carga de traballo,
07:20
the hassles, the stresses, the complaints.
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nos conflitos, no estrés, nas queixas.
07:22
When I first went in there, I walked into the freshmen dining hall,
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A primeira vez que fun alí
e entrei no comedor dos novatos,
07:24
which is where my friends from Waco, Texas, which is where I grew up --
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que é onde os meus amigos de Waco (Texas),
o lugar onde me criei --
07:27
I know some of you have heard of it.
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sei que algúns de vostedes o coñecen.
07:29
When they'd come to visit me, they'd look around,
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Cando viñan visitarme, vían ó seu redor
07:31
they'd say, "This freshman dining hall looks like something
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e dicían: "este comedor para novatos
parece algo sacado
07:33
out of Hogwart's from the movie "Harry Potter," which it does.
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de Hogwart's, da película 'Harry Potter'",
e é verdade.
07:35
This is Hogwart's from the movie "Harry Potter" and that's Harvard.
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Isto é Hogwart's, da película "Harry Potter",
e isto é Harvard.
07:37
And when they see this,
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E cando ven isto
07:39
they say, "Shawn, why do you waste your time studying happiness at Harvard?
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din: "Shawn, por que malgastas o teu tempo
estudando a felicidade en Harvard?
07:41
Seriously, what does a Harvard student possibly have
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A ver, que pode facer
a un estudante de Harvard
07:43
to be unhappy about?"
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infeliz?"
07:45
Embedded within that question
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Facerse esa pregunta
07:47
is the key to understanding the science of happiness.
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é a clave para entender
a ciencia da felicidade.
07:49
Because what that question assumes
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Porque o que esa pregunta asume
07:51
is that our external world is predictive of our happiness levels,
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é que o noso mundo exterior
mostra os nosos niveis de felicidade,
07:54
when in reality, if I know everything about your external world,
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cando en realidade, aínda que eu saiba todo
sobre o seu mundo externo
07:56
I can only predict 10 percent of your long-term happiness.
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só podo predicir o 10 por cento da súa felicidade
a longo prazo.
07:59
90 percent of your long-term happiness
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O 90 porcento desa felicidade
08:01
is predicted not by the external world,
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non se predice a partir do mundo externo,
08:03
but by the way your brain processes the world.
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senón pola maneira na que o cerebro
procesa ese mundo.
08:05
And if we change it,
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E se cambiamos iso,
08:07
if we change our formula for happiness and success,
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se cambiamos a fórmula da felicidade
e do éxito,
08:09
what we can do is change the way
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o que podemos facer é cambiar a forma
08:11
that we can then affect reality.
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en que podemos influir na realidade.
08:13
What we found is that only 25 percent of job successes
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O que descubrimos foi que só o 25 por cento
do éxito no traballo
08:15
are predicted by I.Q.
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se predice polo coeficiente intelectual.
08:17
75 percent of job successes
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O 75 por cento
08:19
are predicted by your optimism levels, your social support
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se predice polos niveis de optimismo,
o apoio social de cada un
08:22
and your ability to see stress as a challenge instead of as a threat.
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e a habilidade para afrontar o estrés
coma un reto e non coma unha ameaza.
08:25
I talked to a boarding school up in New England, probably the most prestigious boarding school,
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Estiven falando cun internado en Nova Inglaterra,
probablemente o máis prestixioso,
08:28
and they said, "We already know that.
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e dixeron: "Iso xa o sabemos.
Por iso cada ano,
08:30
So every year, instead of just teaching our students, we also have a wellness week.
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en vez de simplemente dar clases ós nosos alumnos,
tamén celebramos unha semana do benestar.
08:33
And we're so excited. Monday night we have the world's leading expert
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E estamos tan emocionados.
O luns pola noite virá un experto mundial
08:36
coming in to speak about adolescent depression.
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a falar sobre a depresión
entre os adolescentes.
08:38
Tuesday night it's school violence and bullying.
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O martes pola noite
será sobre violencia e acoso escolar.
08:40
Wednesday night is eating disorders.
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O mércores pola noite
serán os desordes alimenticios.
08:42
Thursday night is elicit drug use.
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O xoves, o consumo de drogas.
08:44
And Friday night we're trying to decide between risky sex or happiness."
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E para o venres estamos intentando
decidirnos entre sexo arriesgado e felicidade".
08:47
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
08:50
I said, "That's most people's Friday nights."
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Eu dixen: "Esa é unha típica noite de venres
para moita xente".
08:52
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
08:55
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
08:58
Which I'm glad you liked, but they did not like that at all.
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Alégrame que vos gustase,
pero a eles non lles gustou nada.
09:00
Silence on the phone.
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Silencio no teléfono.
09:02
And into the silence, I said, "I'd be happy to speak at your school,
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E no medio do silencio, dixen:
"Encantaríame dar unha charla na súa escola,
09:04
but just so you know, that's not a wellness week, that's a sickness week.
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pero só para que o saiban, esa non é
unha semana do benestar, senón da enfermidade.
09:07
What you've done is you've outlined all the negative things that can happen,
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O que fixeron foi destacar
todas as cousas malas que poden ocorrer,
09:09
but not talked about the positive."
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sen mencionar as positivas".
09:11
The absence of disease is not health.
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A falta de enfermidades non é saúde.
09:13
Here's how we get to health:
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Así é como alcanzamos a saúde:
09:15
We need to reverse the formula for happiness and success.
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temos que revertir
a fórmula da felicidade e do éxito.
09:18
In the last three years, I've traveled to 45 different countries,
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Nos últimos tres anos
viaxei por 45 países distintos
09:20
working with schools and companies
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traballando con escolas e empresas
09:22
in the midst of an economic downturn.
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en metade dunha crise económica.
09:24
And what I found is that most companies and schools
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E topeime con que a maioría
das empresas e escolas
09:26
follow a formula for success, which is this:
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seguen a fórmula do éxito,
que é a seguinte:
09:28
If I work harder, I'll be more successful.
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canto máis traballe, máis éxito terei.
09:30
And if I'm more successful, then I'll be happier.
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E canto máis éxito teña, máis feliz serei.
09:33
That undergirds most of our parenting styles, our managing styles,
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Iso apoia a maior parte do noso comportamento
como pais, o noso estilo de dirección
09:35
the way that we motivate our behavior.
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e a forma en que nos comportamos.
09:37
And the problem is it's scientifically broken and backwards for two reasons.
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E o problema é que está cientificamente quebrado
e patas arriba por dous motivos.
09:40
First, every time your brain has a success,
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En primeiro lugar, cada vez que o cerebro
consigue un éxito
09:43
you just changed the goalpost of what success looked like.
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simplemente cambia a forma
en que concibe o éxito.
09:45
You got good grades, now you have to get better grades,
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Vostede consegue unhas boas notas,
agora ten que conseguilas mellores,
09:47
you got into a good school and after you get into a better school,
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entrou nunha boa universidade,
despois nunha mellor,
09:49
you got a good job, now you have to get a better job,
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conseguiu un bo traballo,
agora ten que conseguir un mellor,
09:51
you hit your sales target, we're going to change your sales target.
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acadou o seu obxectivo de ventas,
agora hai que cambiar ese obxectivo.
09:53
And if happiness is on the opposite side of success, your brain never gets there.
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E se a felicidade está no lado contrario ó éxito,
nunca a acadará.
09:56
What we've done is we've pushed happiness
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Coma sociedade, o que fixemos foi
09:58
over the cognitive horizon as a society.
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empurrar á felicidade
cara o horizonte cognitivo,
10:01
And that's because we think we have to be successful,
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e iso débese a que cremos
que temos que ter éxito
10:03
then we'll be happier.
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para ser máis felices.
10:05
But the real problem is our brains work in the opposite order.
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Pero o problema é que o noso cerebro
funciona ó contrario.
10:07
If you can raise somebody's level of positivity in the present,
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Se vostedes poden elevar o nivel de positividade
de alguén no presente,
10:10
then their brain experiences what we now call a happiness advantage,
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os seus cerebros experimentan
o que chamamos unha vantaxe de felicidade,
10:13
which is your brain at positive
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que significa que os seus cerebros en positivo
10:15
performs significantly better
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funcionan moito mellor
10:17
than it does at negative, neutral or stressed.
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que en negativo, neutro
ou en situación de estrés.
10:19
Your intelligence rises, your creativity rises, your energy levels rise.
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A intelixencia aumenta,
ó igual que a creatividade e os niveis de enerxía.
10:22
In fact, what we've found
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De feito, o que descubrimos
10:24
is that every single business outcome improves.
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foi que o resultado de cada traballo mellora.
10:26
Your brain at positive is 31 percent more productive
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O cerebro, en estado positivo,
é un 31 por cento máis productivo
10:28
than your brain at negative, neutral or stressed.
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que o cerebro en estado negativo,
neutro ou situación de estrés.
10:31
You're 37 percent better at sales.
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Se é un 37 por cento mellor en ventas.
10:33
Doctors are 19 percent faster, more accurate
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Os médicos son un 19 por cento
máis rápidos e precisos
10:35
at coming up with the correct diagnosis
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á hora de dar co diagnóstico correcto
10:37
when positive instead of negative, neutral or stressed.
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cando están en estado positivo
en vez de negativo, neutro ou estresado.
10:39
Which means we can reverse the formula.
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Isto significa
que podemos revertir a fórmula.
10:41
If we can find a way of becoming positive in the present,
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Se somos capaces de atopar a maneira
de converternos en positivo no presente
10:44
then our brains work even more successfully
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os nosos cerebros funcionarán
con máis éxito
10:46
as we're able to work harder, faster and more intelligently.
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3000
xa que poderemos traballar máis duro,
rápido e de maneira máis intelixente.
10:49
What we need to be able to do is to reverse this formula
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3000
Oque temos que ser capaces de facer
é revertir esta fórmula
10:52
so we can start to see what our brains are actually capable of.
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para que poidamos comezar a ver
de que son capaces os nosos cerebros,
10:54
Because dopamine, which floods into your system when you're positive,
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porque a dopamina, que aumenta no teu sistema
cando se está en estado positivo,
10:56
has two functions.
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ten dúas funcións.
10:58
Not only does it make you happier,
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Non só fai a alguén máis feliz,
11:00
it turns on all of the learning centers in your brain
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senón que pon en marcha
todos os centros de aprendizaxe do cerebro
11:02
allowing you to adapt to the world in a different way.
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permitindo que cada un se adapte ó mundo
dun modo diferente.
11:05
We've found that there are ways that you can train your brain
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Descubrimos que hai formas
en que se pode entrenar o cerebro
11:07
to be able to become more positive.
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para que poida facerse máis positivo.
11:09
In just a two-minute span of time done for 21 days in a row,
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En tan só dous minutos ó día
durante 21 días seguidos
11:12
we can actually rewire your brain,
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se pode reconectar o cerebro
11:14
allowing your brain to actually work
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permitíndolle que traballe
11:16
more optimistically and more successfully.
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dun modo máis optimista e exitoso.
11:18
We've done these things in research now
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Fixemos unha investigación
con estas cousas
11:20
in every single company that I've worked with,
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en cada unha das empresas
nas que traballei,
11:22
getting them to write down three new things that they're grateful for
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facendo que os traballadores escribisen cada día
tres cousas novas polas que están agradecidos
11:24
for 21 days in a row, three new things each day.
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2000
durante 21 días seguidos,
tres cousas novas cada día.
11:26
And at the end of that,
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E ó final deses días,
11:28
their brain starts to retain a pattern
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o seu cerebro empeza a manter o patrón
11:30
of scanning the world, not for the negative, but for the positive first.
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de examinar o mundo,
non de maneira negativa, senón positiva.
11:33
Journaling about one positive experience you've had over the past 24 hours
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Pensar nunha experiencia positiva
que se tivo durante as últimas 24 horas
11:35
allows your brain to relive it.
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permite que o cerebro a viva de novo.
11:37
Exercise teaches your brain that your behavior matters.
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3000
O exercicio ensina ó noso cerebro
que o noso comportamento é importante.
11:40
We find that meditation allows your brain
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2000
Descubrimos que a meditación
permite ó teu cerebro
11:42
to get over the cultural ADHD that we've been creating
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superar o ADHD cultural que creamos
11:45
by trying to do multiple tasks at once
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ó intentar facer múltiples tareas
ó mesmo tempo
11:47
and allows our brains to focus on the task at hand.
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e permite que os nosos cerebros
se centren na tarea que temos máis cerca.
11:50
And finally, random acts of kindness are conscious acts of kindness.
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E ó final, os actos aleatorios de bondade
son conscientes.
11:52
We get people, when they open up their inbox,
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Conseguimos que a xente,
ó abrir o seu correo electrónico,
11:54
to write one positive email
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escriba un correo positivo
11:56
praising or thanking somebody in their social support network.
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louvando ou agradecendo a alguén
na súa rede de soporte social.
11:58
And by doing these activities
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E ó facer isto
12:00
and by training your brain just like we train our bodies,
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e entrenando o noso cerebro
tal e como se entrena o corpo,
12:02
what we've found is we can reverse the formula for happiness and success,
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3000
o que descubrimos é que podemos revertir
a fórmula da felicidade e do éxito
12:05
and in doing so, not only create ripples of positivity,
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e, ó facer iso,
non só crear ondas de positividade,
12:08
but create a real revolution.
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senón crear unha verdadeira revolución.
12:10
Thank you very much.
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Moitas grazas.
12:12
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Sara Pérez
Reviewed by Patricia Álvarez

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Shawn Achor - Psychologist
Shawn Achor is the CEO of Good Think Inc., where he researches and teaches about positive psychology.

Why you should listen

Shawn Achor is the winner of over a dozen distinguished teaching awards at Harvard University, where he delivered lectures on positive psychology in the most popular class at Harvard.
 
He is the CEO of Good Think Inc., a Cambridge-based consulting firm which researches positive outliers -- people who are well above average -- to understand where human potential, success and happiness intersect. Based on his research and 12 years of experience at Harvard, he clearly and humorously describes to organizations how to increase happiness and meaning, raise success rates and profitability, and create positive transformations that ripple into more successful cultures. He is also the author of The Happiness Advantage.

More profile about the speaker
Shawn Achor | Speaker | TED.com
THE ORIGINAL VIDEO ON TED.COM