Bestselling author and Harvard professor Arthur C. Brooks began his talk at 黑料不打烊 by asking the audience of hundreds a simple question: 鈥淲hat is happiness?鈥�
Then he shared that when he poses that question in his classes, hardly anyone raises their hand. When he calls on students, they inevitably describe the feeling they have when around family or when doing something they like, he said.
Brooks tells them: 鈥溾€楾hat鈥檚 beautiful. That鈥檚 lovely. That鈥檚 wrong!鈥欌€�
New York Times bestselling author and former Maxwell professor Arthur C. Brooks discussed the secrets of happiness at an event held on Oct. 30 in the National Veterans Resource Center.
鈥淎nd it鈥檚 good news that it鈥檚 wrong,鈥� he explained. 鈥淏ecause if you鈥檙e looking for a feeling to get your happiness, you鈥檙e going after a vapor. You鈥檙e consigning your happiness to forces out of your control. You鈥檙e going to go to bed at night saying, boy I sure hope I feel happy tomorrow. And point of fact, that鈥檚 how a lot of people live.鈥�
Brooks鈥� talk, 鈥淗ow to Get Happier in an Unhappy World,鈥� was held in the K.G. Tan Auditorium in the National Veterans Resource Center on Oct. 30. It was hosted by the Maxwell School and sponsored by the D’Aniello Family Foundation, the Louis A. Bantle Chair in Business-Government Policy and the Howard G. and S. Louise Phanstiel Chair in Leadership.
Brooks taught at Maxwell from 2001 to 2009. In addition to serving on the faculty at Harvard, he writes the popular weekly 鈥淗ow to Build a Life鈥� column for The Atlantic and he is the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of 13 books, including 鈥淏uild the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier鈥� (Penguin Random House, 2023), co-authored with Oprah Winfrey.
Brooks鈥� focus on the scientific study of happiness began as he ended his time as the president of the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C. His Harvard class on the subject typically has a waiting list of several hundred students.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the most oversubscribed elective at the business school,鈥� Brooks told the 黑料不打烊 audience, 鈥渨hich is weird, when you think about it. I mean, it鈥檚 a business curriculum and I鈥檓 teaching about happiness.鈥�
But Brooks contends it鈥檚 popular because he is teaching students the business of their lives.
鈥淚 reinforce the idea that their lives are an entrepreneurial endeavor and they鈥檙e the founders,鈥� said Brooks. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e the people who are building this incredible enterprise. The fortune they鈥檙e trying to accumulate is in love and happiness, and that鈥檚 what I want to help them get better at.鈥�
So, what are the secrets to happiness?
鈥淲hat we know in this field, based on both behavioral science and neuroscience, is that the happiest people have in both balance and abundance three things,鈥� Brooks said. 鈥淭hey are enjoyment, satisfaction and meaning. Those are the three parts to happiness. You want to be a happier person? Those are things to pursue.鈥�
Brooks spoke in depth about each of the three and how individuals can work to improve the ingredients of happiness in their own lives. He also shared his four pillars for happiness: Faith, family, friendship and work. Faith, he explained, doesn鈥檛 require religion, but can also come from something as simple as taking in a beautiful moment in nature.
Brooks鈥� lecture ended a daylong visit that included lunch with Maxwell and Arts and Sciences leadership scholars, as well as meetings with faculty, staff and University leaders.
鈥淚t was such a pleasure to have Arthur back on campus, to not only speak to this audience, but to interact with our students and see many old friends,鈥� said Maxwell Dean David M. Van Slyke. 鈥淗is insights into achieving happiness are helping people around the globe, and I am hopeful everyone who heard his remarks and spent time with him learned something about this important subject and about themselves.鈥�
Brooks鈥� work on happiness can be found at .
