#139 Laurie Santos: The Pursuit of Happiness

This podcast interviews Laurie Santos, a Yale psychology professor known for her "happiness" course, exploring misconceptions about happiness and evidence-based strategies to improve well-being. The conversation covers the "arrival fallacy" (believing happiness arrives with achievements), the impact of social comparison and hedonic adaptation, and the importance of social connection, gratitude, and mindful attention. Santos emphasizes the role of rituals and routines in compartmentalizing life and reducing anxiety, highlighting the negative effects of social media and the benefits of practices like negative visualization. Listeners gain practical tools such as the "WWW" method (What For, Why Now, What Else) for managing phone usage and understanding the three components of burnout (emotional exhaustion, personal ineffectiveness, depersonalization). The interview concludes with advice on fostering happy relationships and prioritizing time affluence over time famine.