1. What makes you happy? Raj Raghunathan UT austin
Knowledge to go webinar series, Oct 11th, 2016

2. The Genie Question

3. What’s on people’s Genie wish-list?

4. What’s on people’s Genie wish-list?

5. Functionality of happiness
Health
Relationships
Citizenship
Success
Creativity
Productivity
Sick-leave
Tacit knowledge

6. The first and second elements
Can’t be happy without these three goals—let’s just take that as a given; the question is how do we go about achieving these goals? There are good—happiness enhancing—ways to do it and bad—happiness deflating—ways to do it.
Mastery: a sense that you do something really well; actualized or actualizing your “god given” gifts or potential
Belongingness: a sense of deep and intimate connection with at least one other person
Autonomy: A sense that you are not constrained to do things because of external pressure
Basic necessities

7. The 3rd element: Mindset
Scarcity
Abundance

8. Why mindset matters MBA through MBA through Chasing Superiority
Need to be Loved
External Control
MBA through
Pursuing Flow
Need to Love (and Give)
Internal Control

9. Why seeking superiority lowers happiness
Manifested in desire for relative superiority over others
Comparison with the Joneses (luxury fever)
Esp with close-others
Easterlin Paradox
Why flattery works
Desire to associate with important people even if with no chance of ever meeting them!
Basis in genetics and in socialization processes
Survival chances are higher for those with resources
Social messages and stories (e.g., survivor or success bias) emphasize this need
Subversive because:
Adaptation
Only one place at the top, and even that is not guaranteed forever
Negative reciprocity
Ways of overcoming:
We don’t need to worry about survival!
Recognize role of context and luck in success and failure
Multiple intelligence theory

10. Symptoms of “flow”
Time seems to expand in the moment; yet, time seems to have passed rapidly in retrospect
No attention capacity left over for self-consciousness; mind is completely involved in the activity at hand
Hence, ironically, you are not “Happy” when in Flow; it’s only when you reflect on the activity that you feel Happy
You become immersed in the activity (you “become the activity”)
You are fully present moment

11. Why flow boosts happiness
Enjoyable in the present, enjoyable in the future through meaning & expertise
Distraction from me-focus
Interpersonal effects:
Very few grudge flow/enjoyment (vs. money, fame)
Absorption  Charisma
Enjoyment
Cooperation from others

12. Why the mindset matters
MBA through
Chasing Superiority
Need to be Loved
External Control
MBA through
Pursuing Flow
Need to Love (and Give)
Internal Control

13. Why neediness lowers happiness
If expressed too openly, people shirk away
Attracts wrong people
Story you tell yourself

14. The “need to love”

15. Why kindness enhances happiness

16. Why the mindset matters
MBA through
Chasing Superiority
Need to be Loved
External Control
MBA through
Pursuing Flow
Need to Love (and Give)
Internal Control

17. Why External Control Lowers Happiness
1st picture: your hair is there to tell you that you can’t control everything
2nd picture: when you try to control others, you don’t get others love

18. Internal Control (TPRFYH)

19. Why Internal Control Enhances Happiness

20. Why mindset matters MBA through MBA through “Scarcity” Approach
“Abundance” Approach
MBA through
Chasing Superiority
Need to be Loved
External Control
MBA through
Pursuing Flow
Need to Love (and Give)
Internal Control

21. 3 ways to nurture abundance

22. Thank you!