Unlocking the Secrets of Living a Joyful Life

My husband introduced me to Pushkin Industries, a collaboration between Jacob Weisberg and Malcoln Gladwell.

In their podcast, Revisionist History, Malcolm introduced listeners to The Happiness Lab, a podcast series created by Dr. Laurie Santos, Professor of Psychology and Head of Silliman College at Yale University. Dr. Santos is an expert on human cognition and the cognitive biases that impede better choices.

I listened to a 42-minute episode of the Happiness Lab and absolutely loved it.

Via scientific research, Santos shares surprising stories that alters the way we think about happiness. She makes us wonder if our intuitions about what will make us happy, like winning the lottery or the Olympic silver medal are wrong. She says, our minds are programmed in a way that makes it hard for us to actually enjoy the wonderful things are already have. Santos explains the science of reference points and the psychology of alternate realities. She suggests that as humans, we tend to compare ourselves with other people and measure our happiness against those benchmarks. In the end, she offers ways to be happy by recommending changes to our mental habits.

It's a really a great listen. Check it out.