The Art of Happiness with Arthur Brooks

Were you happy with your life pre-pandemic? Are there toxic relationships or draining activities that might be better left behind as we reemerge from the pandemic? In this episode, Arthur and Ceci discuss how we can use these waning months of the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to honestly evaluate our lives and assess our happiness. Arthur also provides a step-by-step guide on how to learn from difficulties and suffering of the pandemic in order to return to “normal” better, and happier, than we were before.

People usually make two mistakes when it comes to their own happiness: First, they assume that happiness already exists, and they just have to go find it. Second, they equate happiness to other complicated problems, solvable through engineering the right formula. However, happiness is complex, and requires a different approach. In this episode, Arthur is joined by co-authors of the #1 New York Times bestseller Designing Your Life and co-founders of the Stanford Life Design Lab, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. Together, they share some insights from the world of design to help you build a life of happiness and meaning.

Are you making your life harder than it needs to be? Satisfaction is one of the key macronutrients of happiness, but it can prove elusive. And it’s easy to burn out chasing it, and inventing more and more wants in our lives. Can we escape this phenomenon? In this episode, Arthur is joined by New York Times bestselling author Greg McKeown to discuss his latest bestseller, Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most. Together, they share some practical advice for living more effortlessly, while doing more of what matters and finding the true satisfaction that we seek.

Can money buy happiness? It’s easy to get trapped in a cycle of working more and more hours, chasing more and more money, in the hopes of getting happier. But after a certain point, despite our hard-wired belief to the contrary, more money doesn’t bring more happiness. In this episode, Arthur and Ceci discuss the sometimes complicated relationship between money, happiness, and satisfaction. They also share how, at any income level, with a little knowledge and practice, we can actually use money to buy a little more happiness.

Meaning and purpose in life are key drivers of happiness. However, we know that to understand happiness, we must also understand unhappiness, as these virtues often come through pain and suffering. In this episode, Arthur is joined by renowned teacher, international facilitator, and author of Healing Collective Trauma: A Process for Integrating Our Intergenerational and Cultural Wounds, Thomas Hübl. Together, they discuss how we can understand and process traumatic experiences. They also share some advice on how we can avoid becoming permanent victims of our trauma and pain, and instead, develop resiliency and experience post-traumatic growth.

How quick are you to rethink your opinions when presented with new information? Can changing your mind make you a happier person? In this episode, Arthur is joined by Wharton organizational psychologist and bestselling author of Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know to discuss the perks of being wrong. They also explore how thinking like a scientist and having the humility to reevaluate our opinions, while staying true to our values, can help us to not only improve ourselves, but our world, as well.

Are you afraid of failure? Has it held you back from living your best life? You’re not alone. The fear of failure is on the rise. Why? In this episode, Arthur and Ceci explore the sources of the fear of failure as well as share some tangible ways to not only overcome this fear, but also to grow in virtue in the process.

Christians around the world have just entered the season of Lent, a time of prayer, fasting, and voluntary sacrifice. However, this practice isn’t limited to Christianity, or even to those who are traditionally religious. In this episode, Arthur and Ceci explore the positive side effects of sacrifice and share some Lenten strategies and best practices for gaining these happiness benefits, whether we are religious or not.

Evidence shows that there’s more loneliness and isolation in the United States than ever before. Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has even said that we have an epidemic of loneliness in this country. How do we turn back this trend? In this episode, Arthur is joined by thought leader and author of The Lonely Century: How to Restore Human Connection in a World That’s Pulling Apart, Noreena Hertz. Together, they discuss some practical solutions to combat the loneliness epidemic and help those we love who may be suffering.

A happy life requires a mix of enjoyment and purpose. How can you achieve this balance in your own life? In this episode, Arthur is joined by founder of The Daily Stoic, Ryan Holiday, who discusses how we can apply the wisdom of ancient Stoic philosophy to our modern lives. They share some key lessons for building a life of virtue, moderation, and most importantly, flourishing and true happiness.

There’s a simple three-part formula for improving your happiness: understand the science behind it, apply that information to your life, and share that knowledge with others. In this episode, Arthur is joined by Bishop Bill Byrne, bishop of Springfield, MA, and author of 5 Things with Father Bill: Hope, Humor, and Help for the Soul. They discuss lessons from Bishop Bill’s new book, and Arthur shares some advice on how you can practically and simply lead a happier, better life and share those lessons with those around you.

What’s your new year’s resolution? Is it the right one? Research shows that between one-third and one-half of Americans make new year’s resolutions. However, research also shows that fewer than half of resolutions are still successful by June. What’s the secret for a successful resolution? In this episode, Arthur and Ceci share the habits that make resolutions stick. Also, Arthur explains how to set the right resolution in the first place—that is, one that will bring you happiness directly—and he has two suggestions for you.

Are you always a little blue around the holidays? Or perhaps, like many, you’re just finding it hard to get into the holiday spirit during this difficult year, marked by loss and family separation? In this episode, Arthur and Ceci provide some holiday happiness assistance and share how you can build your holiday to make it truly happy and meaningful.

The pandemic has brought life to a standstill for many, not just economically, but physically, as well. Polling data reveals that Americans are plagued by a state of inactivity. Combine that with the usual indulgences of the holiday season, and you can bet that come New Year’s Day, there will be a record number of diet and exercise related resolutions. Does eating right and exercising lead to greater happiness? In this episode, Arthur is joined by personal trainer and co-founder of Mind Pump Media, Sal Di Stefano, to answer this question and provide some tips for living a healthier, happier life, all year round.

In the Western world, we have celebrations to mark life events in the first half of our lives—graduations, weddings, baby showers—but, we don’t celebrate becoming middle-aged. Instead, we often bemoan the “midlife crisis.” Turns out, that’s the wrong way of looking at middle age. In this episode, Arthur is joined by Chip Conley, founder of the Modern Elder Academy, who has dedicated his life to helping people through the transition to the second half of life. They discuss how “middlescence” can be a joyful and fruitful time, if managed well and share some advice for having an even happier second half of life than the first.

The happiness effect of competitive elections is real: Losing an election hurts. In fact, research shows that in presidential elections, having your candidate lose can depress happiness for months. How are you feeling post-election? In this episode, Arthur and Ceci explore the research on happiness and post-election suffering. Also, Arthur shares some much-needed advice for those attempting to cope with Trump’s loss; but for those celebrating a Biden victory, Arthur has some advice for you, too.

With Election Day looming, it’s hard to tune out the nonstop political coverage across all platforms—from cable news to social media. Can you pay less attention while still being an engaged citizen? Should you be tuning out for the sake of your happiness? In this episode, Arthur and Ceci discuss why it’s necessary for the political junkies among us to attempt a political detox and share some practical tips on how we can avoid letting politics dominate our thinking and ruin our happiness and relationships.

Are you struggling to find peace in your life? Does the future seem grim? Tibetan Buddhists attribute this sense of restlessness and pessimism to your “monkey mind.” With this understanding, finding peace and happiness is tricky, like training a frenetic monkey that you can’t get to sit still. In this episode, Arthur is joined by Dr. Martin Seligman, positive psychology expert and author of Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life. They share practical advice for how you can calm your monkey, better understand the future, and move from pessimism to optimism in your daily life.

The evidence is clear that people find happiness and greater life satisfaction in faith and spirituality. But what do you do if you have no experience with faith or have fallen away from the religion of your childhood as you’ve grown older? In this episode, Arthur and Ceci discuss overcoming common obstacles to exploring your spiritual side, particularly if you’re feeling religious stirrings for the first time. But Arthur also shares advice for those who are more traditionally religious on how to elevate their practice amid the busyness of everyday life.

As we enter a new season, we’re facing the reality that the pandemic is not a temporary affliction, but an involuntary transition from one way of life to another. In this episode, Arthur and Ceci discuss the psychology behind why transitions—whether voluntary or involuntary—can be so uncomfortable and why our natural reaction is to resist them. Most importantly, Arthur shares how instead of working against them, we can embrace these periods of “falling tides” in our lives and reap the benefits.

Imagine you had the ability to predict how people’s actions in their 20s or 30s would affect their lives in their 70s and 80s. You’d have a pretty good idea of how to crack the happiness code, right? Turns out, for 80 years, Harvard researchers have been doing just that in one of history’s longest studies of happiness, the Harvard Study of Adult Development. In this episode, Arthur is joined by psychiatrist Bob Waldinger, the current director of the study, to learn about the origins of the project and the enduring lessons on happiness, aging, and relationships that it

Would you rather be special, than happy? If so, you might be a success addict. In this episode, Arthur and Ceci discuss why success can be so addictive and explain some of the key attributes of those who Arthur deems “success addicts.” No matter your stage in life, Arthur shares three tips for overcoming your success addiction and living a happier, more balanced, and fulfilling life.

The coronavirus epidemic and the residual economic effects are spurring life transitions for a lot of people, from small changes to more dramatic “lifequakes.” How can you effectively manage life transitions of any magnitude? In this episode, Arthur is joined by New York Times bestselling author Bruce Feiler to discuss his new book, Life is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age. Together, they outline some practical strategies for optimizing life’s inevitable changes.

What are you afraid of? We’re facing a fear epidemic in America, and it’s not just due to the coronavirus. In this episode, Arthur and Ceci take a deep dive into fear—including how to understand, manage, and even neutralize it. Most importantly, Arthur shares some actionable tips for building your defenses against fear and learning to love and live courageously.

We all have the tendency to want to avoid bad feelings—pain, anger, sadness, and disgust. But is it right to simply push them away? In this episode, Arthur and Ceci discuss the biological importance of bad feelings, as well as how to manage your unhappiness and even benefit from the inevitable pain and suffering that are a normal part of life.

To be effective in your life and work, you must be willing to expand your happiness horizons beyond your own culture. In Arthur’s own life, he’s often looked to India as a source of inspiration on how best to combine material knowledge with metaphysical insight. In this episode, he is joined by Professor of Practice at Columbia Business School and Mentora Institute founder, Hitendra Wadhwa, for a discussion on how blending Eastern and Western philosophies can help you discover your full potential and build a life on the foundations of moral living, spiritual practice, and wisdom.

What do you do when the world is on fire? Drawing on lessons from his national bestseller, Love Your Enemies, in this episode, Arthur shares some recommendations for curing the culture of contempt that’s left our country bitterly divided. He and Ceci discuss the type of leaders our country needs and how the secret to more healing love—within families, among friends, and even towards our enemies—lies in overcoming our fears.

Although this graduation season looks much different than years past, 2020 graduates are still faced with the same question that we’ve all had to answer (or for some of us, are still trying to answer): what vocation will add value and meaning to my life? In this episode, Arthur talks with Stanford Business School professor and behavioral scientist Jennifer Aaker about distinguishing between meaning and happiness in life and work. They also discuss the psychology of humor and how AI just might help improve our well-being.

How does happiness change over a lifetime? What common mistakes do successful people make when faced with professional decline? In this episode, Arthur and Ceci discuss how our lives tend to follow the trajectory of the legendary monomyth, the hero’s journey, and Arthur shares how to conquer the oft-forgotten last stage, when our successes and triumphs are behind us and we find ourselves grappling with feelings of irrelevance and misery.

What better time to contemplate our lives more deeply and reflect on the true sources of happiness than in the midst of global pandemic? In this episode, Arthur and show co-producer Ceci Gallogly discuss his “three equations for happiness” and share how you can develop the habits for living a better life, even in a pandemic. Arthur also shares some practical advice on coping with the growing uncertainty and disappointment caused by the ongoing Coronavirus lockdown.

Amid the outbreak of the coronavirus and weeks of social isolation, many people are feeling anxious and grappling with loneliness. In the inaugural episode of The Art of Happiness, Arthur talks with Claremont Graduate University professor Paul Zak, the pioneer of the field of neuroeconomics and leading expert on oxytocin, the “love molecule.” They discuss the brain science of human connection, social distancing, and the power of hugs, and share three steps to take today to be less lonely in quarantine.