Cultivating Happiness
Happiness is not only a feeling, but also a skill that can be cultivated, according to Harvard Business School Professor Arthur Brooks.听
鈥淲hat is your goal in life? I daresay it鈥檚 love and happiness,鈥� Brooks said. 鈥淵ou can take your life with the same level of seriousness that you would take any management position that you ultimately have.鈥�
Brooks, a professor at both the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard Business School, is also a social scientist, columnist at听The Atlantic, and a bestselling author. He previously served as the eleventh president of the American Enterprise Institute.听
Brooks explained the definition of happiness in three parts: enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning. 鈥淯nderstand what those things are, and you can start getting good at happiness.鈥�
Brooks highlighted a key difference between enjoyment and pleasure, particularly in humans versus animals. 鈥淓njoyment takes place in your prefrontal cortex, pleasure takes place in your limbic system,鈥� he said. 鈥淧leasure is an animal phenomenon. All the animals can feel pleasure just like you can, but they can鈥檛 enjoy things.鈥�
Brooks also emphasized that the pursuit of satisfaction is uniquely human, driven by the reward that comes from struggle. 鈥淪atisfaction is a weird human phenomenon of the joy that you get when you accomplish something after struggle,鈥� he said. 鈥淥nly humans want to struggle. Humans want to sacrifice. Humans want to have even a little bit of pain for what they get because that makes the reward sweeter.鈥�
According to Brooks, meaning in life can be broken down into three essential components that shape how we live our lives.听鈥淭he meaning of your life has really three aspects to it,鈥� he said. 鈥淐oherence. Why do things happen the way they do? Purpose, which is your goals and direction. And the last, of course, is significance. Why does your life matter?鈥�
Brooks asked attendees to reflect on two questions about meaning: Why am I alive? and For what would I be willing to die, now, happily? 鈥淭he only way to fail this exam is to not have answers, or say there aren鈥檛 answers,鈥� Brooks said. 鈥淚f you fail, that鈥檚 good news, because now you know what to go in search of.鈥澨�
Although we have control over our happiness, Brooks said that genetic and habitual factors still play a role.听鈥淔ifty percent of it is genetic,鈥� he said. 鈥淵our mother literally made you unhappy, or happy depending on your circumstances.鈥澨齍nderstanding your genetics can help you form better habits to counteract inherited tendencies, Brooks explained. 鈥淚f you came to me and said, 鈥楶rofessor Brooks, I got a big problem. Both my parents drink too much.鈥� I say 鈥榊ou missed a step,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淗ere鈥檚 a hack to turning the 50 percent genetics on alcoholism to zero: don鈥檛 drink. That鈥檚 a habit, but you鈥檝e got to know your genetics.鈥澨�
So, what habits do the happiest people have? According to Brooks, they share four key practices.听鈥淭hey pay attention to their faith, their family, their friends, and their work,鈥� he said.听
Brooks encouraged students to continue their pursuit of happiness and to share what they learned with others.听鈥淢aybe the happiness movement starts on the second of December at Boston College,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f it does, that would make me very happy.鈥�
Adapted from听听article by听Carina Murphy '27听
Presented with the Portico Program
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