The Secret of Happiness?

Do we actually create our own happiness? Is our level of happiness really within our control regardless of our life situation? Do we overestimate how one particular life goal or outcome might improve our overall happiness over another goal or outcome? In Daniel Gilbert’s TED presentation, evidence he’s gathered suggests this is the case.

Daniel Gilbert also wrote the bestselling book Stumbling on Happiness in which he presents his contentions about how we synthesize happiness to truly create an internal happiness state regardless of the situations with which we might be presented in our lives. Gilbert contends that our brains consistently misjudge what will make us happy and we therefore end up being terrible predictors of what will actually make us happy.

So watch this video and take solace in knowing that, regardless of where you’re at in life right now or what challenges exist, ultimately we often seem to be able to arrive at a happy state of mind anyway. Hmm, I’m felling happier already writing this! Enjoy.