366: Laurie Santos - The Science Of Well-Being (Psychology & The Good Life)

Laurie Santos is a cognitive scientist and Professor of Psychology at Yale University. She has been a featured TED speaker and has been listed in Popular Science as one of their "Brilliant Ten" young scientists in 2007 as well as in Time magazine as a "Leading Campus Celebrity" in 2013. In January 2018, her course titled Psychology and the Good Life became the most popular course in Yale's history, with approximately one-fourth of Yale's undergraduates enrolled.

Notes:

Sustaining excellence:
- Good habits: Form consistent routines
- Healthy: Exercise regularly
- Socialize with others
- They "offload dumb decisions"
Create a morning routine - Limit the wardrobe (limit mental energy spent on trivial things).
Harness the power of habits - "Set you exercise clothes out the night before."
- Do it at a consistent time each day no matter what. This decreases anxiety.
- For writing: Stop in the middle of a sentence. This will help you get started the next day (and avoid seeing the blank screen)
Laurie is the head of a college at Yale. She lives and eats with the students in the dining hall.
- She built her class based upon hearing the complaints of students daily (they were unhappy)
Important behaviors:
- Gratitude
- Social connection
- Random acts of kindness
Students didn't realize their misconceptions about happiness
- It's not about your job, house, or money.
Happy people are:
1. Socially connected - They spend a lot of time with others. They prioritize connecting with others.
2. They don't focus on themselves - "Others oriented." They do more for others.
3. Grateful - They look for the good. They have a mindset of gratitude. They write down 3-5 things they are grateful for everyday. They are mindful.
The GI Fallacy - It's more than just knowing... "You must DO IT."
Be deliberate about connecting with others. Hang out with people you care about. Set up Skype calls with others.
Do NOT complain - It's awful.
Laurie's class has become the most popular class in the history of Yale...
- Her lectures have been filmed for the Today Show
- Created The Happiness Lab
- It's given more meaning to life
Advice for mid-level managers:
- Doctors find happier workers use less than 15 sick days a year
- Work with your employees to do what they're best at
- Find out what they're getting out of the job
- "Your emotions can be contagious. If you embody calm, they will be calm."
- Affective spirals - The leader can turn emotions positive
How to run excellent meetings:
- Infuse it with gratitude - Say what you're grateful for. Grateful team members are more productive.
- Regulate your emotion. Don't transmit negative energy to your team.
At home: Regulate emotion. Take time to pay attention to your emotion. What are you bringing home?
- Be present. Express gratitude to your family. Shift from complaining to being grateful.
- Say what you love about each other at your family dinner table
The best way to learn is to teach it.