Adventure as Lasting Happiness | Dr. Arthur Brooks | EP 528

This episode explores the science, philosophy, and neuroscience of happiness, contrasting pleasure with the more sustainable concept of enjoyment. Against the backdrop of defining happiness correctly, the conversation distinguishes between immediate, hedonistic gratification and a more profound, iterable, and socially-oriented enjoyment. More significantly, the discussion pivots to discernment, framed as a neurocognitive process involving pilgrimage and engaging the right hemisphere of the brain to understand life's meaning. As the conversation progresses, the importance of setting an "uphill goal" and the role of positive emotion in achieving it are highlighted, with progress toward a divinely inspired aim providing a greater sense of fulfillment. The discussion also covers the paradox of arrival, where achieving a goal can lead to a loss of motivation, emphasizing the need for a sequence of expanding goals with no upper limit, akin to Jacob's Ladder. Emerging patterns reflected in the conversation include the importance of gratitude, self-management, and the cultivation of virtue as essential components of a fulfilling and happy life.