LearnOutLoud.com Review
This short conversation on the science of happiness covers a lot of ground, and it's a shame it didn't go on longer. It features two of the preeminent researchers on happiness, Martin Seligman (author of Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment) and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (author of Flow: Living at the Peak of Your Abilities).
In this interview, Seligman defines happiness as a combination of positive emotions, engagement, and meaning. Csikszentmihalyi takes up the conversation on what engagement or "flow" means in terms of losing yourself in an activity. They all agree that once one arrives at a certain amount of money, earning more money doesn't really buy happiness beyond that. They talk about the importance of friendships, and how work can be a hindrance to happiness, particularly when it doesn't involve doing what you're good at. They also debate the genetics of happiness and how much of it is heritable. The conversation closes with a look at what countries are the happiest.
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