by Dr Victor SL Tan
Throughout my life as a trainer, writer and management consultant, I have learned that happiness does not simply arrive at our doorstep. It is not entirely determined by luck, wealth, position or the behaviour of other people. Happiness is something we must consciously cultivate. I believe our Happiness is greatly influenced by how well we manage four other Hs: our Head, Heart, Hormones and Health.
These four dimensions are closely connected. When one is neglected, the others may be disturbed. When all four are managed well, we become happier, more resilient and more productive—not only in our personal lives, but also in the workplace. Happiness does not mean smiling every minute or pretending that problems do not exist. To me, genuine happiness is the inner stability that enables us to recover from disappointment, appreciate ordinary moments and face pressure without losing our values or direction.
Head: Managing Our Mindset
The Head represents our thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and interpretation of events. I have often observed two employees facing the same setback but responding very differently. One sees the setback as evidence that everything is going wrong. The other sees it as feedback and asks, “What can we learn, and what should we do next?” The event may be the same, but the stories they tell themselves are different.
Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck explains that people with a growth mindset believe their abilities can be developed through effort, effective strategies and help from others. She reminds us that “difficulty is a natural part of learning.” This attitude encourages people to persevere, learn from mistakes and adapt to change—qualities that are essential in today’s corporate world. In my book, Changing Mindsets and Releasing Trapped Minds, I have shared the 5 components of our mindset that affect our behavior through the BACHA mindset model - Blindspot, Assumptions, Complacency, Habits and Attitude. Changing Mindset in essence is eliminating Blindspots, changing outdated Assumptions, reduce Complacency, rid unproductive Habits and abolish negative Attitudes.
Managing our Head means learning to question negative assumptions, stop unnecessary comparisons and concentrate on what we can control. Positive thinking is not denying reality. It is facing reality with clarity, courage and hope. In the workplace, a well-managed Head improves judgment, creativity, problem-solving and decision-making. When our minds are clouded by fear or resentment, we waste energy. When our thinking is constructive, that same energy can be channelled towards solutions and results.
Heart: Managing Our Emotions and Relationships
The Heart represents our emotions, relationships, compassion and the values that give meaning to our work and life. Over the years, I have realised that people do not leave their emotions at the office door. Hurt, loneliness, jealousy, frustration and resentment follow us into meetings and influence how we communicate, collaborate and lead. Managing our Heart means acknowledging our emotions honestly without allowing every emotion to dictate my behaviour. We must learn to practise gratitude, empathy, forgiveness and healthy boundaries.
The American Psychological Association notes that relationships can significantly influence both physical and mental health. The quality of our conversations and social connections plays an important role in our overall wellbeing. This is equally true in organisations. Employees perform better when they feel respected, valued and psychologically safe. Leaders who listen with empathy build trust. Teams that trust one another share ideas, address mistakes earlier and cooperate more effectively. A healthy Heart therefore creates more than happiness—it strengthens teamwork, employee engagement and organisational performance.
Hormones: Managing Our Stress Response
Hormones influence our mood, energy and behaviour. Adrenaline and cortisol are useful when we face genuine danger, but repeated stress can leave us tense, impatient and easily provoked. Road rage is a familiar example. A driver feels insulted, stress hormones surge, judgment narrows and anger can turn into reckless aggression. Similar reactions happen in the workplace. A harsh email, an unreasonable deadline or a critical remark may trigger an impulsive response that damages relationships and reputations.
Managing our Hormones means creating a pause between stimulus and response. Slow breathing, regular exercise, proper rest and temporarily stepping away from conflict allow our nervous system to settle before I speak or act. Psychiatrist and Stanford clinical instructor Dr Jacob Towery offers encouraging advice: “The good news is mindsets are highly changeable.” By learning to challenge distorted thoughts, he says, people can experience significantly greater happiness.
In corporate life, emotional self-regulation is not weakness. It is executive maturity. A calm leader makes better decisions, prevents unnecessary conflict and gives employees confidence during uncertainty.
Health: Protecting the Foundation
Health is the physical foundation supporting all the other “H”s. Poor sleep, inactivity, pain, dehydration, unhealthy food and untreated illness can reduce concentration, patience and emotional resilience. We sometimes pursue success while treating our bodies like machines that never require maintenance. Research links insufficient sleep with impaired attention and vigilance, workplace errors and reduced productivity. (source: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
Caring for our Health is therefore not selfish. Regular movement, balanced meals, sufficient water, quality sleep, medical check-ups and appropriate treatment enable me to think more clearly, regulate our emotions and sustain my performance.
The business implications are substantial. The World Health Organization estimates that depression and anxiety cause the loss of approximately 12 billion working days annually, costing the global economy about US$1 trillion in lost productivity. ( source: World Health Organization)
Gallup’s extensive workplace research also found that highly engaged business units achieved 14% higher productivity in production measures, 18% higher sales productivity and 23% greater profitability than those in the bottom quartile. They also recorded substantially lower absenteeism and fewer safety incidents. (source: Gallup Q12 Meta-Analysis)
The message is clear: employee wellbeing is not merely an HR programme. It is a business and productivity strategy.
The 4 “H”s certainly affect greatly our Happiness which is our ultimate pursuit in life . Poor Health disturbs Hormones. Disturbed Hormones unsettle the Heart. A troubled Heart clouds the Head. An unmanaged Head makes every challenge appear larger.
We cannot control everything happening around us but we can take greater responsibility for what happens within us. When we manage our Head with wisdom, Heart with compassion, Hormones with self-control and Health with discipline, Happiness becomes more than a passing emotion. It becomes a sustainable way of living, leading and performing at our best.
Dr Victor S. L. Tan is the Chief Executive Officer of KL Strategic Change Consulting Group. He is the author of 21 books, including Changing Mindsets, Releasing Trapped Minds, Changing Your Corporate Culture, and Lessons of Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow. KL Strategic Change Consulting Group is the winner of The BrandLaureate Award for making one of the most positive and profitable impacts on organisations through corporate training. His latest program on The Art of Happiness in the Workplace. For more information contact him at 0123903168 or email at victorsltan@klscc.com
Dr Victor SL Tan (victorsltan@klscc.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.
