Our minds often misunderstand happiness and are drawn to negativity. Negativity bias is an evolutionary trait that makes us pay more attention to bad things for survival. We are wired to have more brain space dedicated to negative emotions. However, we tend to remember negative experiences more positively in the long run, known as fading affect bias.
Oprah Winfrey and Arthur Brooks want you to be happier - so the TV megastar and the Harvard academic teamed up to write a book setting out the steps you can take to be a little happier each day.
Over the summer, Dr Laurie Santos read Build the Life You Want, the Art and Science of Getting Happier and loved it. So she recorded a conversation with Arthur touching on how his son found meaning in the marine corps; why you should remove the all mirrors from your home; and whether happiness experts can ever be happy themselves.
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