Yale University psychology professor Laurie Santos says happiness is about having joy in your life and with your life.
鈥淚f we鈥檙e maximizing you being happy in your life -- that鈥檚 lots of positive emotions,鈥� Santos told .
She says you鈥檙e happy with your life when you鈥檙e satisfied at a meta level.
Santos teaches the course 鈥淧sychology and the Good Life鈥� at Yale, which is all about happiness. She started it in 2018 after noticing students were more anxious and depressed than ever. A study from the backs that up. It found that rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation increased significantly among U.S. college students from 2007 to 2018.
It turns out Yale students wanted to talk about the science of happiness. Over 1,000 people signed up for Santos鈥� class on 鈥渢he good life鈥� -- so many that she had to teach it in a concert hall. Since then, she鈥檚 taught a similar course online where millions of people have enrolled. She also hosts the podcast .
Santos says we often think we鈥檒l be happy when some big change happens -- we get a new job, more money or an award. She says that鈥檚 rarely true.
鈥淚 think one misconception we have is that happiness is a destination. That we鈥檒l get to somewhere and it will be happily ever after,鈥� she says. 鈥溾�楬appily ever after鈥� only works if you only have two seconds to live.鈥�
In reality, happiness takes work, she says. Research shows you can increase your happiness with socializing, gratitude, kindness, enough sleep, exercise and being in the present moment.
