What does success smell like

From fabulous food to horrible hygiene, our nose dictates our wants and desires, often overriding our best intentions. But what if I told you that you could tame that rogue sense to become your greatest motivational ally? Participants were given a three second blast of either incense or bergamot, then were told to find their way through what was actually an unsolvable maze.

The participants performed badly because of the previous scent association with doing badly. But Dr Chu also proved that success could be similarly improved by associating a particular scent with a previous positive experience. A group of school children sat very simple tests in a room scented with either peppermint or strawberry tea.

They began to associate these smells with doing well at exams. They were then given a test described to them as meant for the year above, and the group who had linked their successful performances with the positive pongs of the tea performed much better when they sat their test in a room filled with tea scented goodness, than those without the scented association! HOW TO USE IT: You can utilise scent in the same way by linking positive experiences with a chosen scent ahead of time and then taking that scent with you when you feel you need to perform.

The technology exists to allow personalized scents to be released around individual employees — one person may respond well to peppermint, another may see cognitive improvement from a citrus aroma. A study 3 led by Harvard University professors saw 24 people spend six full working days in an environmentally controlled office space, with different levels of carbon dioxide being added to the air.

Riach goes further, warning employers to be cautious about installing office-wide odor systems. For smell, personal is the way to go. This site uses cookies to improve your website experience. Cookie Policy.

Share this article on. The smell of success: it really does exist. Reading time: 4 Minutes Scientists and psychologists maintain that exposure to a well-chosen scent can make us more productive. Does smell sell? They tend to be subtle; I don't like a fragrance that is too overpowering. I do wear cologne every now and then. My partner picked it for me. I've worn that for many, many years, and found it to be very fresh. No, really my particular cologne is Dior Eau Sauvage.

My wife likes the smell on me. She's the decision maker. That's it. I don't wear cologne in a corporate environment. What does success smell like? Please try again later.

Brisbane Times. By Stephen Lacey May 29, — 2. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size.