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15
Sam:
I want to give people tools to make a laboratory out of their own lives so
they can answer the question of happiness for themselves because happiness is
the most quintessentially subjective thing there is. You’re the only one who can
know what happiness is to you. I can sit here and tell you that researchers have
mapped out the brain and found that the feeling of happiness corresponds to
increasing blood flow in the left prefrontal cortex. But, you’re the only one who’s
really qualified to make a deep assessment about what happiness is in your own
life. For most people, happiness seems so basic and so essential that they don’t
actually put that much thought into it. It’s like asking a fish to describe what
water is.
Laurel:
What benefits does happiness bring to us?
Sam:
It should be a comfort to all of us to know that the pursuit of our own
happiness is not inherently selfish and, in fact, benefits everyone around us. It
probably comes as no surprise, but happier people live longer. They tend to have
better immune function and don’t get sick as often as unhappy people. They tend
to make more money. They tend to be more likable, more resilient, and they
bounce back from upsets and stresses quicker and better.
Happier people tend to be more optimistic, more civically active, and more
productive at work. They’re more creative in problem solving and have stronger
friendships and marriages and are more philanthropic and altruistic. All these
things are just correlations, which doesn’t necessarily prove which causes which,
but there is a significant connection.
Laurel:
What role does meditation play in our sense of happiness?
Sam:
Meditation is a toolbox for examining the nature of our own selves and
the world we live in and for increasing our capacity to be focused in the present
moment with what I call compassionate self-acceptance. One study involved
giving subjects an iPhone app that would buzz at random times throughout the
day and ask them to pause and answer “What are you thinking about right now?
Are you thinking about what’s happening in the present or is your mind somewhere
else?”
About half the time, our minds tend to wander into the past or future and the
study revealed that most of the time these wandering thoughts tend to make
us at least somewhat unhappy. If we can’t focus in the present moment, we cut
ourselves off from a potential for happiness and joy. One of my favorite quotes
comes from philosopher, Blaise Pascal, who said, “All of humanity’s problems
stem from our inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
Laurel:
What do we know scientifically about pleasurable experiences and how to
maximize them?