Chase happiness directly and it slips away
Tal Ben-Shahar advises pursuing happiness indirectly, Laurie Santos explains hedonic adaptation with the 'yacht problem', Arthur Brooks warns about the hedonic treadmill, and Morgan Housel says money buys happiness only indirectly. Meaning, connection and contribution deliver the happiness that direct pursuit of pleasure or status cannot.
What does Tal Ben-Shahar say happens when happiness is your direct goal? Show answer
Research shows it makes you less happy. Happiness has to be pursued indirectly, through its parts.
What is Ben-Shahar's sun analogy? Show answer
Looking straight at the sun hurts, but a prism breaks the light into colors you can enjoy. Happiness works the same way when broken into its parts.
What does Ben-Shahar call the number one predictor of happiness? Show answer
Quality time spent with people we care about and who care about us.
What is hedonic adaptation, as Laurie Santos explains it? Show answer
Getting used to something, such as first-class flights or a new possession, until it no longer gives a boost.
What did the income study Santos cites find? Show answer
Positive emotion rose with income and then leveled off at around $75,000 a year in the U.S. at that time.
What does Santos say is one of the best ways to spend money for happiness? Show answer
Buying back time, since often feeling time-starved hurts well-being as much as reporting being unemployed.
What are Arthur Brooks's three macronutrients of happiness? Show answer
Enjoyment, satisfaction and meaning.
What are Brooks's four idols, and when do they hurt? Show answer
Money, power, pleasure and fame. None is evil, but each hurts you when it becomes your primary objective.
How does Morgan Housel say money buys happiness? Show answer
Indirectly, by making time with loved ones easier and supporting independence and purpose.
What caveat does Andrew Huberman add about money? Show answer
It cannot buy happiness but it buffers stress, for example by paying for help, and it affects access to social connection.
What did the 2008 study Huberman cites find about bonuses? Show answer
How employees spent a bonus, including on others, predicted their happiness better than the size of the bonus.
Why is practicing happiness not the same as chasing it directly? Show answer
The effort goes into ingredients such as connection, kindness, gratitude and focus, not into the feeling itself.