The Secret to Happiness

The Secret to Happiness

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Want to be happier? Stay in the moment - Matt Killingsworth

​"When are humans most happy? To gather data on this question, Matt Killingsworth built an app, Track Your Happiness, that let people report their feelings in real time. Among the surprising results: We're often happiest when we're lost in the moment. And the flip side: The more our mind wanders, the less happy we can be." (Filmed at TEDxCambridge.)

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Read about Matt Killingsworth's work on the following slide and answer the questions that follow.

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Multiple Choice

What did the data show with the iPhone app called trackyourhappiness.org that Matt Killingsworth created?

• The more peoples' minds wander, the happier they are

• The less peoples' minds wander, the happier they are

• The more peoples' minds focus, the less happy they are

Multiple Choice

People are less happy when they’re mind-wandering no matter what they’re doing.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

Why would our minds' wandering lead to unhappiness, according to Killingsworth?

• We think about our happy times and become nostalgic

• We think about unpleasant things like our anxieties, worries, and regrets

Multiple Choice

What percentage of the time are people's minds wondering about something other than what they are currently doing, according to Killingsworth research?

• 75% of the time

• 10% of the time

• 47% of the time

• 40% of the time

Open Ended

Do you believe to be happy you must live in the present and be focused? Why or why not? Explain.

If being fully present and living in the moment makes us happier, how can we practice to get better at it?

​Read the article on the following slide to find out and answer the questions that follow.

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Open Ended

Identify THREE of the many benefits of practicing mindfulness.

Open Ended

Identify TWO of the many ways you can cultivate mindfulness.

Poll

What about the relationship between money and happiness? Would winning the lottery make you happier?

• YES

• NO

​Let's find out!

​"Imagine winning a multi-million dollar lottery tomorrow. If you’re like many of us, you’d be ecstatic, unable to believe your good luck. But would that joy still be there a few years later? Raj Raghunathan describes a phenomenon called hedonic adaptation, which may shed light on the answer." (TEDEd)

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Watch the video on the following slide to see the results and answer the questions that follow.

Would winning the lottery make you happier? - Raj Raghunathan | TED-Ed

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Multiple Choice

Based on a study of lottery winners, it was found that winning the lottery:

• Has little to no effect on long term happiness

• Made some actually less happier than they were before winning

• Both are true!

Multiple Choice

The hedonic treadmill:

• A Discusses our ability to keep working despite wanting to quit

• B Our continual attempt to make more and more money

• C Describes our tendency to adapt to a new situation and maintain a stable emotional equilibrium

• D Makes us less emotionally sensitive to any kind of change

• Both C and D

Multiple Choice

Winning the lottery sometimes may not be a wonderful event. What can happen?

• It may be difficult to manage large sums of money

• A person may spend or lose it all too quickly

• It may be socially isolating

• It may make you not such a nice person

• All of the above

Multiple Choice

The more you spend money on ___________ the happier you will be.

• Expensive cars

• Food

• Experiences

• Your home

Multiple Choice

You have received a large sum of money, the best way to ensure your happiness is to:

• Immediately spend it on something for yourself

• Spend it buying something for someone else

• Put it in the bank

• All of the above

Open Ended

The hedonic adaptation inhibits our enjoyment of positive changes, and it seems to enable our resilience in recovering from adversity. Why is this important?

Open Ended

You win a large sum of money and want to be sure that what you spend it on will make you happy. Based on what you learned in this lesson, what would you do?

Open Ended

Generosity has a way of making both the donor and receiver happy. Explain.