Summary of Mo Gawdat's Solve for Happy

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 Happiness is that feeling when everything seems right, when all of life's twists and turns and jagged edges seem to fit together perfectly. It is a human desire as basic as the drive to take the next breath.

#2 The default state is happiness. If you don’t believe me, spend a little time with a human fresh from the factory, an infant or toddler. They are perfectly happy as long as their most basic needs are met.

#3 When you use a programmed device, you sometimes change its default settings without meaning to. The same thing happens with the human default for happiness. Parental or societal pressure, belief systems, and unwarranted expectations come along and overwrite some of the original programming.

#4 The happiest communities in the world are actually in the poorer countries of Latin America, where people do not seem to think much about financial security or what we consider success. They work each day to earn what they need, but beyond that, they prioritize their happiness and spend time with their family and friends.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822529731

IRB Media

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Insights on Mo Gawdat's Solve for Happy

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

Happiness is that feeling when everything seems right, when all of life's twists and turns and jagged edges seem to fit together perfectly. It is a human desire as basic as the drive to take the next breath.

#2

The default state is happiness. If you don’t believe me, spend a little time with a human fresh from the factory, an infant or toddler. They are perfectly happy as long as their most basic needs are met.

#3

When you use a programmed device, you sometimes change its default settings without meaning to. The same thing happens with the human default for happiness. Parental or societal pressure, belief systems, and unwarranted expectations come along and overwrite some of the original programming.

#4

The happiest communities in the world are actually in the poorer countries of Latin America, where people do not seem to think much about financial security or what we consider success. They work each day to earn what they need, but beyond that, they prioritize their happiness and spend time with their family and friends.

#5

The idea that wealth, power, and lots of toys are prerequisites for happiness is false. In fact, the opposite is true. Being happy makes you more productive and more likely to get ahead.

#6

We continue to chase success as our primary goal, even though it leads to unhappiness. We should instead seek to directly make ourselves happy by doing something that makes us excel at it.

#7

I developed a simple process to collect the data I needed to determine what made me happy. I began by simply documenting every instance when I felt happy. I called it my Happy List.

#8

The act of creating your Happy List makes you feel happy, so make sure to do it at least once a week. When you’re finished, go back and highlight a few items that, if you were forced to set priorities, would be at the top of the list of things that make you happiest.

#9

The simplest way for an engineer to express the definition of happiness is in an equation: if you perceive the events in your life as equal to or greater than your expectations, you’re happy. But it’s not the event that makes us unhappy; it’s the way we think about it.

#10

The Blank Brain Test is a simple test to reaffirm the Ironic Process Theory. It’s very simple. Recall a time when you felt unhappy, for example, when a friend was rude to you. Without changing anything in the real world, remove the thought.

#11

We can change our thoughts to make us happier, and we do this all the time. When we are asked to complete a specific assignment, we tell our brain what to do and it complies.

#12

The discomfort of a wet diaper, hunger, and inadequate sleep are all examples of the