Explore the three essential components of happiness – enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning – as defined by social scientist Arthur Brooks, and how to balance them for a fulfilling life.
There is no magic recipe for being happy throughout life. However, it is possible to feel happiness by “cooking” several “macronutrients” in a balanced way. “Happiness is best defined in terms of macronutrients,” explains Arthur Brooks, a social scientist, for the MindBodyGreen website. “When I first meet someone who isn’t very happy, I start by digging into their macronutrient profile to see where they’re lacking.” So, what exactly is the recipe?
Enjoyment
According to Arthur Brooks, a fundamental distinction must be made between “pleasure” and “enjoyment.” “The most common thing I see in young adults is that they don’t experience much enjoyment. All they have is pleasure.” Understand this: pleasure is associated with something ephemeral, difficult to replicate over time. It would come from the limbic system, in other words, the emotional brain. “It’s about capturing a part of the limbic system called the ventral striatum, which is the part of the brain that says: ‘that feels good. Do it again.'” The problem lies here: a dopamine release can provide pleasure, but the latter is not sustainable.
It is then necessary to transform this pleasure into enjoyment, by adding several things to your experiences: people and memories. “You have to feel the source of pleasure in your prefrontal cortex,” explains Arthur Brooks. “To do this, you have to mix it with social relationships by creating memories, so that they become something lasting that you can remember again and again.” The author of the book Build the Life You Want gives the example of a Thanksgiving meal, which is better when shared with loved ones, in that it consists of a social experience. “If something is addictive and a source of pleasure, don’t do it alone,” he concludes.
Satisfaction
Arthur Brooks defines satisfaction as the joy that comes after a struggle. Unfortunately, the latter does not last, because the brain is programmed to return to the hunt. “Mother Nature tricks us into thinking that once we get the reward, we’ll enjoy it forever,” he explains. The solution? A simple mathematical equation: the things you have, divided by the things you want.
This way, you can continue to increase the numerator of this equation, but “you can do much better by trying to manage the denominator of the satisfaction equation,” he continues. “If you can learn to want less, your satisfaction will last much better.” Very basic math.
Meaning
Every person has a purpose, or rather gives meaning to their life. If finding it may seem like a gigantic undertaking, Arthur Brooks suggests asking two simple questions: “Why are you alive?”, and “For what reason would you be willing to die?”. Of course, these answers can evolve over time. The important thing is to make sure you have answers. You don’t have any? Perhaps it’s time for some introspection.
“Some people do it by practicing traditional meditation, while others do it by simply walking in nature,” explains Arthur Brooks. “I answer these questions through the prism of my faith, but you have to have something, because otherwise we are too focused on the details of our own individual lives.” A quasi-philosophical reflection.
This article was originally published by LR Media for marieclaire.fr on the Marie Claire France website.
