Psychology and the Good Life by Laurie Santos
What you can do to have better mental health
What is the Problem?
- Students were stressed and felt they weren’t able to achieve anything meaningful during their time in Yale
- Too stressed to enjoy the small pleasures in life
- This is shown in students everywhere
Stuff You Should Know
- You can control half of your happiness
- What you predict makes you happy doesn’t make you as happy as you think
- Having a catastrophic event occur in your life may make you sad in the moment but a few months later your happiness will be back to normal
- Our behaviors impact our happiness
- Takes effort and daily work to be happy
What Can We Do to Feel Happier
- Recognize that your mind is lying to you about what it means to be happy
- Understand a high salary doesn’t guarantee happiness
- Push yourself to become a better person
- Make time to interact with others and make social connections
- Helping others
- Make time for gratitude
- Share your gratitude with someone else
- Simple, healthly practices help your mood a lot
- Be present in the moment
- Prioritize time over money
What Can I Do to Be Happy
- Hang out with friends
- Watch Netflix
- Bake something
- Go on a hike
- Have a picnic