Happy

THE FIRST QUESTION IS "WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

I DON'T KNOW. TO BE HAPPY?

TO BE HAPPY.

I WANT THE AMERICAN DREAM. I WANT TO BE HAPPY.

WOULD IT SURPRISE YOU TO KNOW THAT IN A RECENT SURVEY,

THIS RICKSHAW DRIVER, MANOJ SINGH,

WAS FOUND TO BE AS HAPPY AS THE AVERAGE AMERICAN?

FOR HUNDREDS, MAYBE EVEN THOUSANDS OF YEARS,

PEOPLE HAVE STUDIED DEPRESSION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ILLNESS.

THE GOAL OF PSYCHOLOGISTS

WAS PRIMARILY TO RID A PATIENT OF THEIR PROBLEMS.

RECENTLY, HOWEVER,

MODERN SCIENCE HAS BEGUN TO LOOK AT HOW HAPPINESS WORKS.

WHAT ARE THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF A LIFE

THAT'S NOT JUST FREE OF ILLNESS,

BUT ONE THAT FLOURISHES WITH A DEEP AND GENUINE HAPPINESS?

WHEN I GOT INTO HAPPINESS RESEARCH,

IT WAS 1981.

IT WAS NOT A POPULAR FIELD IN PSYCHOLOGY.

PEOPLE THOUGHT IT WAS FLAKY, THAT IT WAS LOOSE.

A PROFESSOR SAID TO ME, "YOU CAN NEVER MEASURE HAPPINESS."

NOW, WHY THEY THOUGHT YOU COULD MEASURE DEPRESSION,

WHICH THEY WERE ALL DOING,

BUT YOU COULDN'T MEASURE HAPPINESS, I'M NOT SURE.

AND THEN, IN THE '90s,

PEOPLE STARTED GETTING INTERESTED IN IT.

AND NOW IT'S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED.

MAGAZINE ARTICLES AND BOOKS ARE BEING WRITTEN ABOUT IT.

THERE'S EVEN A NEW FIELD OF SCIENCE

CALLED "POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY,"

WHICH STUDIES HAPPINESS.

IT BECAME THE MOST POPULAR CLASS AT HARVARD,

WITH 1,000 KIDS SHOWING UP EVERY WEEK

FOR A HAPPINESS CLASS.

THE FIRST THING IS TO REALIZE

THAT HAPPINESS CAN ACTUALLY HELP YOU GET YOUR OTHER GOALS,

HAVE BETTER RELATIONSHIPS, MAKE MORE MONEY,

DO BETTER AT THE JOB.

PEOPLE ON THE JOB ARE GONNA LIKE YOU BETTER IF YOU'RE HAPPY.

WHAT WE'VE DONE...

AND I'VE DONE THIS FOR THE LAST 25 YEARS COLLECTING DATA.

SO, WE FOLLOW PEOPLE AND LOOK AT THEIR MOODS OVER TIME.

WE'VE ALSO LOOKED AT RANDOM SAMPLES OF PEOPLE

FROM AROUND THE WORLD,

WHO'S HAPPY, WHO'S NOT HAPPY.

THEN WE CRUNCH ALL THESE NUMBERS

AND WE SAY, "GEE, WHAT REALLY MATTERS?"

BY STUDYING IDENTICAL TWINS,

PEOPLE WITH ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME GENETIC MAKEUP,

RESEARCHERS HAVE DISCOVERED

THAT APPROXIMATELY 50% OF THE DIFFERENCES

IN OUR HAPPINESS LEVELS

IS DETERMINED BY OUR GENES.

THEY CALL THAT OUR "GENETIC SET POINT,"

OR OUR "GENETIC SET RANGE."

MOST OF US ARE BORN WITH A CERTAIN RANGE OF HAPPINESS

THAT WE FALL IN MOST OF THE TIME.

AND EVEN WHEN REALLY GOOD OR REALLY BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO US,

WE KIND OF TEND TO RETURN TO OUR SET POINT.

AND WHILE 50% IS GENETIC,

AMAZINGLY, OUR CIRCUMSTANCES,

LIKE WHAT JOB WE HAVE OR HOW MUCH MONEY WE HAVE,

OUR SOCIAL STATUS, OUR HEALTH,

THOSE THINGS THAT MANY OF US ARE TOLD TO FOCUS ON,

THEY ONLY ACCOUNT FOR 10% OF THE DIFFERENCES IN OUR HAPPINESS.

MOST PEOPLE ARE KIND OF STUNNED AT HOW SMALL THAT IS,

BUT THAT STILL LEAVES 40% UNACCOUNTED FOR.

AND SO OUR THEORY SUGGESTS

THAT THERE IS A GREAT DEAL YOU CAN DO TO BECOME HAPPIER,

AND THAT 40% IS LEFT FOR KIND OF INTENTIONAL BEHAVIOR,

YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT WE CAN DO ON A REGULAR BASIS

TO BECOME HAPPIER.

IT'S VERY IMPORTANT IF A PERSON WANTS TO BECOME HAPPIER

TO TRY NOT TO ADAPT TO WHAT THEY'RE DOING.

SO, THEY WOULD CONSCIOUSLY VARY WHAT THEY DO.

IT COULD BE LIKE WHEN YOU DO YOUR DAILY RUN

THAT YOU TAKE A DIFFERENT ROUTE.

I MEAN, THAT'S NOT REALLY, YOU KNOW, MIND-BOGGLING.

FOR SOME PEOPLE, IT'S GONNA BE A LOT OF CHANGE.

FOR SOME PEOPLE, IT'S GONNA BE A LITTLE.

BUT THAT CHANGE IS IMPORTANT.

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE.

THIS IS A PARADISE TO ME.

THAT'S WHY I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE.

PEOPLE EITHER CALL ME FOR A TOUR, "WHAT WE GONNA SEE?"

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE,

BUT WE'RE GONNA SEE SOMETHING."

LOOK RIGHT THERE.

THAT'S A CRAWFISH EATER.

LOOK AT THAT ALLIGATOR ON THAT BIG LOG.

SEE IT? I FEEL LIKE A KID, MAN.

AND RIGHT WHERE WE AT THERE, STRAIGHT AHEAD,

MY HOUSE IS RIGHT THERE ACROSS THE LEVEE.

IN THE AFTERNOON SOMETIMES,

I'M KIND OF, LIKE, DOWN A LITTLE BIT.

I JUMP IN MY 4-WHEELER, AND I COME PARK RIGHT THERE.

MY HOUSE IS RIGHT THERE.

AND I WATCH THESE BIRDS PASS

AND JUST LISTEN TO THE STILLNESS.

THIS, YOU KNOW, WILDLIFE AND BEING OUT HERE,

YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE.

BUT NATURE, ESPECIALLY LIKE THIS, YOU KNOW,

IT'S GOOD MEDICINE.

THIS IS MY HAPPINESS.

ANY DISCUSSION OF HAPPINESS CENTERS A LOT ON DOPAMINE.

DOPAMINE IS A CHEMICAL IN THE BRAIN CALLED A NEUROTRANSMITTER

THAT'S NECESSARY FOR FEELINGS OF PLEASURE AND HAPPINESS.

SO, ELECTRICAL IMPULSES COME DOWN A NERVE,

THEY HIT THE CONNECTION,

AND THE CONNECTION RELEASES CHEMICALS.

THE CHEMICALS DIFFUSE TO THE NEXT NERVE CELL.

THEY BIND TO RECEPTORS IN THE NEXT NERVE CELL,

AND THEY CAUSE AN ELECTRICAL CHANGE.

THAT CHEMICAL RELEASE THAT IS RELEASED

IS CALLED A NEUROTRANSMIT.

PRETTY MUCH, AS YOU AGE FROM ABOUT TEENAGE YEARS ONWARD,

YOU'RE SLOWLY LOSING DOPAMINE SYNAPSES

AND PROBABLY DOPAMINE NEURONS, AS WELL.

AS FAR AS WE KNOW, NO ONE'S OBSERVED THOSE REGENERATING.

IF IT'S TOO SEVERE, THEN YOU END UP WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE.

THE BODY ADAPTS TO WHAT IT NEEDS TO DO.

SO, THE "USE IT OR LOSE IT"

PROBABLY APPLIES TO SOME DEGREE IN THE BRAIN, AS WELL.

AND SO THE IDEA WOULD BE

TO SEEK OUT EXPERIENCES THAT RELEASE DOPAMINE

OR YOU NEED DOPAMINE TO DO.

THE THINGS THAT ARE BEST AT DOING THAT, INTERESTINGLY,

INVOLVE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.

SO, AEROBIC EXERCISE IS PROBABLY

ONE OF THE BEST RELEASERS OF DOPAMINE,

ESPECIALLY IF YOU DO IT IN NOVEL WAYS.

WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY?

LIKE, BANANA SPLITS.

I LIKE BANANA PEELS.

I LIKE BIG BANANAS.

THE BRAIN IS BASICALLY...

ON THIS LEVEL, IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO A MUSCLE.

THE PARTS OF THE BRAIN THAT ARE...

I'M SORRY.

I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONNA SAY THE BRAIN IS A SPONGE.

BUT I'LL GO WITH MUSCLE.

IT TURNS OUT

THAT THERE'S ANOTHER COMPONENT OF SURFING AND EXERCISE

THAT CAN INCREASE YOUR HAPPINESS.

IT'S WHAT AN ATHLETE WOULD CALL "BEING IN THE ZONE."

I STARTED STUDYING PEOPLE WHO WERE DOING SOMETHING

VERY DIFFICULT AND DEMANDING FOR NO GOOD REASON...

NO MONEY, NO STATUS, NOTHING,

BUT JUST BECAUSE THEY LIKE TO DO IT.

MY UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT MOTIVATED THESE ACTIVITIES

WAS NOT ANYTHING THAT CAME FROM OUTSIDE

BUT IT CAME FROM THE ACTIVITY ITSELF.

AND I GAVE THE NAME "FLOW"

TO THIS KIND OF SYNERGY

OF DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF CONSCIOUSNESS,

WHERE YOU WISH YOU COULD GO FOREVER

BECAUSE IT FEELS LIKE YOU ARE COMPLETELY FULFILLING SOMETHING

THAT YOU CAN DO WELL AND THAT YOU CAN SEE IT HAPPENING

AND YOU FEEL THAT NOTHING ELSE MATTERS.

TO HAVE VERY CLEAR GOALS

THAT YOU KNOW MOMENT BY MOMENT WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO.

LIKE IF YOU'RE SINGING OR PLAYING A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT,

YOU ALWAYS KNOW WHAT NOTES OR CHORDS YOU WANT TO PLAY NEXT

AND YOU CAN HEAR WHETHER YOU'RE DOING IT RIGHT OR NOT.

PEOPLE IN THAT SITUATION FEEL IN CONTROL,

THEY FORGET THEIR PROBLEMS.

INTERESTINGLY, THEY FORGET THEMSELVES,

SO THAT THE KIND OF EGO

THAT YOU ARE ALWAYS AWARE OF IN EVERYDAY LIFE

DISAPPEARS.

IT BUILDS OVER TIME A FEELING THAT LIFE IS WORTH LIVING.

FLOW CAN HAPPEN ALMOST ANYWHERE.

IT CAN HAPPEN DURING PERSONAL TIME,

OR IT CAN HAPPEN WITH YOUR FAMILY.

IT CAN EVEN HAPPEN AT YOUR JOB.

IT'S ALL IN THE RHYTHM.

IT'S ALL IN KEEPING THE RHYTHM GOING.

DOING IT 14 YEARS. I LOVE IT.

DON'T WANT TO GO NOWHERE ELSE.

WHY DO YOU LOVE IT?

I LIKE COOKING, ALWAYS DID.

I GOT A ORDER OF HASH BROWNS ON THE WAY.

PATTY MELT?

MASTER GRILL OPERATOR.

THE RESEARCH IS CLEAR.

PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENCE FLOW ON A REGULAR BASIS

ARE HAPPIER THAN THOSE WHO DON'T.

MUCH OF WHAT WE BELIEVE

ABOUT THE CAUSES AND SOURCES OF HAPPINESS

SIMPLY ISN'T TRUE.

PEOPLE OVERESTIMATE HOW MUCH IMPACT BOTH GOOD AND BAD EVENTS