Recently, I visited a naturopathic doctor with a friend who received an acupuncture treatment. Despite a phobia to needles, I was curious to try it and challenged myself to overcome the fear. Before I could brace myself for the imagined pain, the doctor stuck one of the needles in the top of my head.

It didn't hurt, just felt a little tingly. When I asked why she chose the top of my head, she said that's a place for happiness.

How easy would it be to poke the top of one's head (without a pin) every time happiness ebbed? Positive psychology expert Tal Ben-Shahar proposed one solution at the 2011 World Business Forum: The key to happiness is to focus on what works. But, there are two powerful forces that make it nearly impossible to keep an eye on the positive:

1. Ben-Shahar said most business leaders are "problem-solvers" with a natural tendency to identify a problem or obstacle, and then analyze the causes or what has gone wrong.
   
   
2. Author and executive coach Russell Bishop reminds in his book, Workarounds that Work, that our earliest test scores accentuated how many answers were wrong. For example, 44 right in a 50-question test would be typically marked, "-6."
   
   

So, how does a problem-solving leader, indoctrinated at an early age to look at what's wrong, positively motivate teams? Ben-Shahar suggests reframing problems into an opportunity to ask the right questions. Instead of analyzing the wrongs, understand the successes and work to replicate those conditions.

"Appreciate the good, and the good appreciates," Ben-Shahar said — a fitting reminder for the holiday season.

Watch the exclusive ExecuNet interview with Tal Ben-Shahar.

Robyn Greenspan
Robyn Greenspan is the Editor-in-Chief at ExecuNet, where she is responsible for setting and driving the editorial content engagement strategy across the private business network's publications and expert-led programming. She is also a Huffington Post blogger. You can follow her on Twitter @RobynGreenspan

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