We have more control over our happiness than we think. And if we follow the advice of the most cutting-edge happiness researchers, we can help others achieve it, as well.

Emiliana Simon-Thomas happens to be one of those researchers. A neuroscientist and Science Director of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, she speaks and writes about the connection between happiness, meaning, compassion and wellbeing. She also co-teaches an online course, The Science of Happiness that, to date, has been taken by over 450,000 people.

In this interview we discuss:

Just how important social relationships are to our happiness and wellbeing
How our baseline for study is social, not solitary
The fact that social deprivation leads to greater stress, lowered resilience, and less happiness
How friendships helps us reframe challenges as more achievable
The fact that an ongoing sequence of pleasurable moments does not guarantee happiness
How happiness is derived from a rich emotional life that includes negative emotions
How happiness speaks to the ease with which we experience the entire range of human emotion
The fact that happiness stems from our ability to transcend ourselves - to view our lives in relation to a bigger purpose
How the ways we spend our time, where we put our focus, and how we view others determines our happiness
How forgiving others can have a greater impact on us than the person we forgive
How mindfulness is about noticing the world beyond ourselves
How graduates of the Science of Happiness course show significant improvement when it comes to happiness, flourishing, and connections to others, along with decreased loneliness and stress
The fact that the quality of our relationships has a significant impact on our happiness
The game changing difference it makes when we express our gratitude toward others
How practicing gratitude helps us feel more optimistic, decreases our self-absorption, and increases feelings of pleasure that can create a reinforcing loop
How practicing gratitude and showing appreciation can shift workplace culture
The difference between valuing someone for who they are versus what they achieve
How our ability to express gratitude and to show compassion are culturally influenced habits, not gendered skills
How the data shows that happier employees are more productive, more engaged, more loyal and more attentive to creating a better customer experience
The importance role self-compassion plays in our ability to be happy, to show compassion to others, and to improve or maintain our wellbeing

Links to Topics Mentioned in this Podcast

Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas

@GreaterGoodSC

The Expanding Gratitude Project

Gratitude and Wellbeing at Work

The Science of Happiness course

Eric Liu

Social baseline theory - James Coan and David Sbarra

Robert Emmons

Judson Brewer

The Gratitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan

Center for Positive Organizations

Davita

Kristin Neff

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