One of the most popular courses at Yale University is Psychology and the Good Life. Professor Laurie Santos offers a course in “positive psychology.” Dr. Santos wanted to teach not just the science but also the practice of happiness. And happiness, it turns out, does take practice.
Professor Santos’s course includes proven methods to increase your well-being. Before we get happiness, we have to understand why we often get it wrong. Our minds persuade us to follow intuitions that turn out to be entirely wrong. For example: list the things that you think would make you happier: more money, a new home, vacation, etc. Your mind is constantly telling you that if you just got those things, you’d finally be unequivocally happy. Nearly everything we think will make us happier however doesn’t because it is only a circumstantial change.
Many of us assume that circumstances play the biggest role in our happiness; however, research suggests roughly 50 percent of happiness is determined by genes, 10 percent by circumstance and the final 40 percent is within our control determined by your thoughts, actions, and attitudes (Lyubomirsky Sonja, “The How of Happiness”).
Psychologists studied the habits of people who already identify as happy, which included: devoting time to family and friends, practicing gratitude, practicing optimism and keeping physically active.
What about money? Michael Norton of Harvard Business surveyed millionaires in 2017 and asked, “How much more money would you need to be a perfect 10 in happiness?” People with $1 million said $3 million. People with $3 million said $9 million… And so on.
Interestingly, there is an income amount that does bring a level of happiness. Nobel Prize–winning economists Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton studied 1,000 American households back in 2010 and discovered that well-being rises with income until you hit $75,000, at which point it levels off. Beyond that, they found no observable increase in happiness with higher income.
Generally, Western society does a terrible job of valuing time and money correctly. We often associate money and wealth with success and status. For example: Many people might accept a new job with a higher pay even if it meant increased work hours or a longer commute.
On the other hand, studies have shown that people derive more happiness from time. In one experiment, participants were offered $40 to spend it on a time-saving purchase (ordering takeout, hiring a house cleaner, etc.). The same participants were offered another $40, to spend on a material good. The subjects reported being happier when they spent the money to buy “time” or the alleviation of time pressure.
Some excellent activities to improve one’s well-being or “rewire” your brain toward happiness:
Sleep: get at least seven hours of sleep
Gratitude: One study found that taking the time to journal just three things daily over 15 days led to better well-being in 94 percent of respondents
Turn Your Phone Off: the evolution of smartphones has perpetuated electronic stimulation and dependency
Philanthropy: there three main ways to give back: Time, Talent or Treasure
Meditate: even as little as ten minutes per day.
Be Responsible: looking after children, pets or even a garden have shown to increase happiness
Get Active: In addition to keeping healthy and releasing endorphins, if it is sunny outside, you get some vitamin D.
While I consider myself a happy person, admittedly I can do more of #2 and #5.
The views expressed are those of Eric Davis, Senior Portfolio Manager and Senior Investment Advisor, and Keith Davis, Associate Investment Advisor, TD Wealth Private Investment Advice, as of June 14, 2023 and are subject to change based on market and other conditions. Davis Wealth Management Team is part of TD Wealth Private Investment Advice, a division of TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. which is a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank.