Today’s guest has some unexpected news for you: being happy isn’t possible. Instead, he says, work towards being happy-er.
You'll hear today from social scientist, happiness scholar, and best-selling author Arthur Brooks (Harvard). We talk with Arthur about this journey towards happier-ness and discuss his new book with Oprah Winfrey called Build the Life That You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier. If you struggle with turning negative emotions into positive ones, if you're curious about the science behind the promises and claims of happiness scholarship, or if you simply want to live a happier life (and wonder if faith is a part of that), then this episode is for you.
Arthur Brooks
Happiness is not a feeling, which means that it's not contingent on what you had for breakfast or what you're digesting or if you had an argument with your partner. On the contrary, it's a lot more tangible than that.
You have to get small compared to the majesty of the universe such that you can put things in proper perspective, and you're not stuck on the most boring thing in the world, which is me, me, me.
We live in a world of hacks, and there are no hacks. There are only habits. Habits are based on virtues, and virtues are based on knowledge and the work that you're willing to put into your life. There's no one weird trick. You have to actually do the work and make it make it a project because your life is a project. You are the startup entrepreneur of the enterprise of your own life, which is an extraordinarily beautiful thing.
The one way you're not going to get happier is by wishing you were happier; you got to do the work.
