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Aliana Yanez

Mr. Pittman

Eng 111-243

11 September 2019

Neil Pasricha’s “The 3 A’s of Awesome” and Shawn Achor’s- “The Happy Secret to Better
Work”

Achor and Neil, speakers in the two TED Talks “The 3 A’s of Awesome” and “The
Happy Secret to Better Work,” both believe that how he/she view the world, or how his/her
mindset works, will determine his/her reality. Their determination is based on real life
experiences and research. Neil Pasricha’s mindset is to be grateful for what he/she has and don’t
always stress or mourn about what he/she wants. Shawn Achor’s mindset is very similar. Achor
believes that if people always focus on the negative in life, it will affect how they think
happiness should look, and they will never be happy. Although they both have the same
outcome, they present their data differently.

Neil Pasricha states repeatedly how in life people need to reminisce on the good moments
and never forget the hard work accomplished to get to the present. Pasricha notes that people
need to find the good in a situation and push forward. Shawn Achor focuses on knowing what
makes people strive to do better in life and what is making people not settle for just being
average. Both Pasricha and Achor are aware of people’s capabilities and both truly understand
just how powerful a person’s mindset really is.

Neil Pasricha says even if sad moments in your life tear you down to your breaking point,
look deep within yourself and find your passion. Only good things will come from moving
forward. Pasricha describes it as a way to find oneself. Pasricha encourages people to be “about
embracing your inner three-year-old” and to be aware of everything going on in their
surroundings. (Pasricha) Pasricha wants people to realize that “being aware is just about
remembering that you saw everything you’ve seen for the first time once, too.” (Pasricha) He
encourages people to never forget moments when they saw things happen for the first time.
People have to be aware of their surroundings, actions, and emotions. Shawn Achor says why are
there these different levels of brain capacity? Achor wants to push society to move the
expectations for being average higher, encouraging people to be aware of how they view the
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world. We need to be aware of the way we view the world . Achor notes that “We’re finding it’s
not necessarily the reality that shapes us, but the lens through which your brain views the world
that shapes your reality. And if we can the lens, not only can we change your happiness, we can
change every single educational and business outcome at the same time.” (Achor) Achor dreams
of a time when all people can expect more out of the world around them. Both speakers are right.
Pasricha and Achor have excellent points. One sees the situation at hand as finding one’s inner
child and studying positive influences in the world around oneself. The other examines the
impact of positivity on the word at large.

Pasricha views authenticity as being true to oneself, allowing an individual to do what makes
him or her truly happy. Pasricha encourages “being you and being cool with just that.”(Pasricha)
Achor views authenticity as creating lasting positive changes by still being true to oneself. Achor
believes that people can change by doing just the simplest of tasks, which included journaling,
exercising, meditating, and engaging in random acts of kindness. According to Achor, all people
have the power to change their mentality.

Pasricha is better at connecting with his audience than Achor is because Pasricha throws in
more real-life situations. Pasricha pulls his audience in more with letting everyone know that
they are not alone, that there are people out there that are going through the same thing as they
are. Yet, everyone is different, but we all have someone that we can relate too. Some real-life
situations include oneself attitude toward others and how one views the world. Everyone has
distinctive mindsets, that’s what sets everyone apart but if we could all think with the mindset
that puts everyone on the right track it would be one less flaw we would all have. At least we
would all be one step closer to the right path. Pasricha connects with his audience in a more
sensitive way, in a way he knew would work best because he can relate to it in a sensitive way as
well.

Both Pasricha and Achor say it’s never too late to make a decision or to gain control over
one’s life by training the brain to only focus on the positive. Reality is determined by one’s
mindset, outlook, awareness, and authenticity. Don’t listen to society. By training our brain to
only focus on the positive it will help change our outlook on life. Negative people, thoughts and
emotions will not let our brain think clearly. Negativity will not let us use the full capability of
our brain. Reality is determined by ones mindset, outlook, awareness, and one’s authenticity.
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Work Cited

https://www.ted.com/talks/neil_pasricha_the_3_a_s_of_awesome?language=en
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https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work?language=en