positive psychology: the science of happiness catherine a. sanderson amherst college
TRANSCRIPT
Positive Psychology:The Science of
Happiness
Catherine A. Sanderson
Amherst College
Overview Why Do We Care About Happiness?
What Do We Think Makes Us Happy (But Really Doesn’t)?
What Actually Does Make Us Happy?
Conclusions … and the Top 10 Strategies to Increase Happiness in Your Own Life!
Why Do We Care About Happiness?
Happy people are …. More helpful (and less hostile) More productive
Experience better health Fight off colds Recover from surgery Live longer
What Do We Think Makes Us Happy (But Really Doesn’t)?
Money
“Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing
in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the
more one wants.” by Benjamin Franklin
Climate
Life events Minor Major
Marriage
Children
“Having a baby is like
suddenly getting the world's worst roommate.”
by Anne Lamott
What Does Make Us Happy? Behaviors
Eating Exercising Sex Shopping
“The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up.” by Mark Twain
Religion Age
Peak Moments Positive events Negative events
Nature
‘‘Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy.’’ by John Muir
Personality Extraversion High self-esteem
“I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.” by Martha Washington
Optimism
“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.” By Nelson Mandela
Relationships Being around happy people Having close friends & family Having meaningful conversations
“Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is
in our lives.” by C.S. Lewis
Conclusions: The 3 Components of Happiness
Pleasure (but least important)Engagement (and anticipation) Meaning
’Well,’ said Pooh, ‘what I like best,’ and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.” By A.A. Milne
“Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours.” By Dale Carnegie
Conclusions: What We Know Impacts Happiness
The power of genetics (explains about 50% of happiness)
The power of our capacity to adapt To good events
To bad events
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The power of adversity (the hidden silver lining)
“Too much good stuff has come out of it. I was not headed towards a career in medicine before the accident, and I don’t think I’d be as good a physician if I hadn’t had that experience.” By BJ Miller
“Sports books are always about winning because winning is far more pleasurable and exhilarating to read about than losing. Winning is wonderful in every aspect, but the darker music of loss resonates on deeper, richer planes. Loss is a fiercer, more uncompromising teacher, coldhearted but clear‑eyed in its understanding that life is more dilemma than game, and more trial than free pass. My acquaintance with loss has sustained me during the stormy passages of my life when the pink slips came through the door, when the checks bounced at the bank, when I told my small children I was leaving their mother, when the despair caught up with me, when the dreams of suicide began feeling like love songs of release. … Though I learned some things from the games we won that year, I learned much, much more from loss.” By Pat Conroy
The power of effort“Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it.” by Elizabeth Gilbert
Top Ten Strategies for Increasing Happiness
1. Keep a “gratitude journal” 2. Make a “gratitude visit”
“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.” by Dale Carnegie
3. Change your behavior Get enough sleep Exercise Spend time outside Meditate Read a book you love
“There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book.” By Marcel Proust
4. Smile (even when you aren’t happy)
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” by Thích Nhất Hạnh
5. Perform random acts of kindness Volunteer Donate to charity Give a gift to a friend
6. Find your “match” At work At play
“The only way to do great workis to love what you do.” by Steve Jobs
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." by Mark Twain
7. Keep things in perspective (is it really life or death?).
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8. Spend money on the right things Yes on experiences No on belongings
“Trying to be happy by accumulating possessions is like trying to satisfy hunger by taping sandwiches all over your body.” by George Carlin
9. Avoid comparisons.
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” by Teddy Roosevelt
Joe HellerTrue story, Word of Honor:Joseph Heller, an important and funny writernow dead,and I were at a party given by a billionaireon Shelter Island.
I said, "Joe, how does it make you feelto know that our host only yesterdaymay have made more moneythan your novel 'Catch-22'has earned in its entire history?"And Joe said, "I've got something he can never have."And I said, "What on earth could that be, Joe?"And Joe said, "The knowledge that I've got enough."Not bad! Rest in peace!"
--Kurt Vonnegut, The New Yorker, May 16th, 2005
10. Build & maintain close relationships (takes time, energy & effort - but worth it)“But on entering upon family life he saw at every step that it was utterly different from what he had imagined. At every step he experienced what a man would experience who, after admiring the smooth, happy course of a little boat on a lake, should get himself into that little boat. He saw that it was not all sitting still, floating smoothly; that one had to think too, not for an instant to Forget where one was floating; and that there waswater under one, and that one must row; and that his unaccustomed hands would be sore; and that it was only to look at it that was easy; but that doing it, though very delightful, was very difficult.” By Leo Tolstoy
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