Want to be happier? Avoid these simple mistakes – a Yale expert reveals all

Since the Yale University cognitive scientist Laurie Santos began teaching her class “Psychology and the Good Life” in 2018, it has become one of the institution’s most popular courses. The first year the class was offered, nearly a quarter of the undergraduate student body enrolled. You could see that as a positive: all these young high-achievers looking to learn scientifically corroborated techniques for living a happier life.

Back up. I took a leave of absence because I’m trying not to burn out. I know the signs of burnout. It’s not like one morning you wake up, and you’re burnt. You’re noticing more emotional exhaustion. You’re noticing what researchers call depersonalisation. You get annoyed with people more quickly. You immediately assume someone’s intentions are bad. You start feeling ineffective. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t noticing those things in myself.

Laurie Santos: “We’re fighting cultural forces that are telling us, ‘You’re not happy enough; happiness could be just around the corner.’”A lot of stuff that we know can have a positive effect on happiness — developing a sense of meaning, connection with other people, meditation and reflection — are commonplace religious practices. How helpful are they outside religion?

Is it possible that practices that lead to happiness – such as accepting anxiety, avoiding comparison with others and being satisfied with what we already have – can also lead to complacency? Don’t you need some of the emotionally detrimental stuff in order to achieve? Instagram offers almost infinite capacity for negative comparison. Would quitting social media be the most important thing your students could easily do to increase their happiness?

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