Anxiety Quote by Shawn Achor
“You can eliminate depression without making someone happy. You can cure anxiety without teaching someone optimism. You can return someone to work without improving their job performance. If all you strive for is diminishing the bad, you'll only attain the average and you'll miss out entirely on the opportunity to exceed the average.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: TED Talk "The Happy Secret to Better Work", Shawn Achor, 2011
Focusing only on removing negatives limits growth; true improvement requires actively adding positive qualities and aiming higher than the status quo.
In simple terms: Removing problems isn’t enough; add strengths to exceed average.
Add positive actions, not just eliminate negatives.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- workplace productivity
- mental health treatment
- personal development
- team management
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What positive habits could you cultivate to surpass average performance?
- How can you shift focus from fixing problems to building strengths?
Simply reducing negatives may lead to mediocrity without proactive enhancement.