As the world grows more complex and challenging, it may seem harder and harder to be happy. But according to Arthur C. Brooks, Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School, happiness is not out of reach.
According to Brooks, about half of our baseline happiness is genetic. The rest is circumstantial—and we can control much of it through our own actions. “Your life is the most important management task you will ever undertake,” Brooks explains. “It is, in fact, like a start-up, where you are the founder, entrepreneur, and chief executive. If you treat your life the way a great entrepreneur treats an exciting start-up enterprise, your life will be happier, more meaningful, and more successful than it otherwise would be.”
The Happiness Journey
You may have encountered Brooks through his column in The Atlantic, “How to Build a Life,” for which he’s written more than 300 essays. His most recent book, The Happiness Files: Insights on Work and Life, gathers 33 of these essays to help readers do the work of becoming happier.
According to Brooks, happiness is not a destination at which we arrive. Rather, it’s a journey—a process that we undertake throughout our lives. Our careers should contribute to that process, instead of getting in the way. The added bonus? The actions we take to increase our happiness also tend to boost our professional success and satisfaction over time.
Brooks encourages a focus on one of two goals: increasing happiness or decreasing unhappiness. This distinction isn’t hair-splitting. It turns out that, neurobiologically, happiness and unhappiness are produced in different regions of the brain, which means we must ask ourselves the following question: Do I have a happiness problem, or an unhappiness problem? If the latter, most people make the common mistake of attempting to eliminate unhappiness altogether. But Brooks warns against this: “Don’t optimize for good feelings,” he explains. “You may have sources of real suffering or grief in your life. Being happier doesn’t mean shoving them aside. You can learn from them and grow—and, yes, become happier as a result.”
In his book, Brooks proposes an entrepreneurial approach to happiness. Like any great entrepreneur, you’ll want to set the right goals and then make sure that every activity supports those goals. As you plan your happiness journey, keep the considerations below—drawn on neuroscience, social psychology, behavioral economics, and other fields—in mind.
Identifying Your Goals
Money buys happiness, but only to a point. Research shows that people with truly low incomes can become happier with more money—so they are able to meet basic needs for food, shelter, healthcare, education, and a few creature comforts. But once they reach a certain annual income (depending on geographic location, this can range from $75K to $200K USD), the additional money doesn’t really make them happier. That means it’s important to look elsewhere for happiness.
Pleasure and happiness are different. The pursuit of pleasure alone does not make us happy. To achieve greater happiness, you need to focus on finding more love, enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning, rather than responding to a spur-of-the-moment inclination. In particular, Brooks says, try to manage yourself with compassion and respect while also setting boundaries that will bring your actions into alignment with your goals.
Your own measures of value and progress matter most. Many people make the mistake of thinking that achieving the next observable milestone—in salary, job title, house, vacation—will make them happy. But Brooks notes that this is simply evolutionary biology “keeping us in the hunt” and that once we achieve these milestones, our satisfaction wears away quickly. According to Brooks, it’s better to create real value for yourself and other people in your life—in other words, focus on the intrinsic, not the extrinsic, for your well-being. Intrinsic rewards are defined by you, not your company or your peers. Focusing on improvement and learning will help you stay on course to happiness.
Beware the top rung on the corporate ladder. Many executives believe that they will be happy when they land the coveted top position. But the truth is that executives who are already happy are the ones who tend to be promoted. Another way to think about it: The surest way to fail in a leadership role is to hate being the leader. The corner office is not for everyone. If you decide to take the big role, know what you are getting into—and be prepared to take a hit to your happiness, at least temporarily, based on the loneliness of the gig.
Challenge your happiness goals. Brooks suggests asking three questions about a potential goal: Will I enjoy the journey? Do I truly want the promised rewards? Can I take it step by step, breaking long-term goals into smaller chunks so I can achieve more victories along the way?
Drive Toward Your Goals
Don’t waste time on things that make you unhappy. One big barrier to happiness is time-wasting activities. Brooks explains, “Time can only be really ‘wasted’ in two ways—when you engage in something that crowds out more productive or edifying activities, and when you deliberately engage in something that, on balance, you don’t actually even like.” When you reduce activities that don’t make you happy, you can spend time more productively inside or outside of work.
Hold fewer meetings, shorter meetings, smaller meetings—especially virtual meetings. Full-time white-collar workers spend way too much time in unproductive meetings—17.8 hours per week, according to one U.S. study. Make sure that every meeting has a real purpose, that everyone who attends really needs to be there, and that the meetings are as short as possible. We can’t eliminate meetings entirely, but we can reduce the stress and frustration they tend to cause.
Be more mindful. Be truly present in the moment, more aware of your feelings and actions, more intentional about everything you do—and in turn, you’re less likely to be overcome by sudden emotions. For example, be more honest with yourself about procrastination: Are you procrastinating because you need more time for ideas to percolate? Or is it because you are avoiding something?
Balance thoughts about past, present, and future. You can learn from the past—especially by analyzing and taking lessons from (rather than dwelling on) failures. Similarly, thinking about past successes can boost your confidence, but dwelling on a past big win that isn’t relevant doesn’t help. Trophies, in other words, can get in the way of happiness. Instead, try keeping a journal of happy memories, such as fun days with loved ones, good days in your work life, and moments of peace and tranquility, and then turn to this journal in difficult or stressful times.
Give more and better compliments and less criticism. Research shows that teams perform better when sincere compliments outweigh criticism. Compliments must be credible, given in an appropriate context, and never backhanded. As for criticism, be sure that it is designed to help and not harm. If you’re on the receiving end, remind yourself that criticism is a gift, don’t take it personally, and invite people whose opinions you trust to criticize you on a regular basis. You may learn a lot in the process.
Nurture relationships with family and friends. It’s a fact that people who are happier outside of work tend to be happier at work. A big part of non-work happiness comes from investing time and energy in relationships. Make sure you’re always nurturing these relationships through actions such as focusing on the things you have in common—not disagreements; talking less and listening more; being the kind of person you want to meet; and learning from relationship failures.
Fostering Happiness
Once you’ve decided not to leave your happiness to chance, you can work to become happier, a little at a time, guided by your strategy. As a first step, make sure you really understand what happiness is, so you can set your goals, change your thinking and nurture happiness habits in meaningful ways. As you move into day-to-day happiness hygiene, you’ll be positioned to think proactively about whether each action is consistent with your understanding of your happiness and your goals.
Brooks encourages business leaders to become happiness leaders. Sharing what you’ve learned about your own happiness journey will help you internalize your lessons—but just as important, helps you promote happiness for others in your personal life and in your workplace.
“Seeking happiness is not a selfish act,” Brooks explains. “It’s eminently responsible. We all deserve to be happy. More happiness in the world benefits everyone. When you are happier, the people around you will be happier, and the world will be a better place.”