Most people believe that if they work hard and are successful, they will be happy. Sounds logical—but science has proven that theory wrong, says Michael Rosenbaum of Alternative Choices Natural Healing. For more than 15 years, Rosenbaum has worked with people to “rewire” their minds, helping them transform unhealthy behaviors and negative emotions and live from a place of joy.

He points to the groundbreaking work of Harvard research professor Shawn Achor, author of the bestseller The Happiness Advantage. The book describes how Achor worked with more than 1,600 Harvard students and dozens of Fortune 500 companies to demonstrate what does create happiness and how to rewire the brain to accomplish this.

Rosenbaum offers the following tips for creating happiness:

 1.  The brain tends to copy the repetitive tasks it’s given. For instance, a tax auditor, who has trained his brain to look for mistakes, might go home and see the mistakes in his wife’s behavior without noticing the positive things about her. Achor found that taking five to ten minutes each night to write down three specific things for which you are grateful will rewire the brain to a more positive orientation after just a few weeks.

2.  The brain has “mirror neurons” that pick up whatever is happening in the environment and begin to copy it internally. That’s why smiles are contagious—as are negative emotions and behaviors. So pay attention to the people you most often hang out with and the situations you most often experience—they are contagious.

Michael Rosenbaum of Alternative Choices Natural Healing has offices in Mt. Kisco, Katonah and Golden’s Bridge, NY. For a free 20-minute consultation or to make an appointment, call 914.218.9000 or email [email protected]. For more info, visit AlternativeChoices.org.