Laurie Santos: The Pursuit of Happiness
The Knowledge Project
00:00
Why our minds lie to us about what makes us happy
People often put a lot of effort into pursuing things they believe will make them happy, successful, and lead to a meaningful life. However, our minds deceive us about what truly brings us happiness. We have strong intuitions that certain achievements or possessions will result in everlasting happiness, but studies show that these feelings are often short-lived. Lasting happiness comes from something else. This misunderstanding is known as the arrival fallacy or the happily ever after fallacy. We mispredict the intensity and duration of the happiness we expect to feel when certain events or outcomes occur. Therefore, it is essential to reevaluate the types of things that truly bring us fulfillment and invest our energy accordingly.
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