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1-Page Summary of The Happiness Hypothesis
Overview
Throughout history, people have been trying to figure out what makes them happy. Happiness has always been an important part of life and it is still a big question for researchers today. However, despite all the effort put into finding happiness there are still no answers as to its true source.
Throughout history, people have tried to find happiness through different means. However, today there seems to be a consensus that finding happiness is about having the right relationship between one’s personality and surroundings. In The Happiness Hypothesis, Jonathan Haidt examines how our rational self (our “rational rider”) can influence our everyday decision making. He argues that we often assume that decisions are made by this rational self when in fact they’re driven by an emotional inner elephant.
In this passage, you’ll find out why understanding the mind is important to being happy and how passion can only be good for a romantic relationship in the beginning. You’ll also learn that healthy relationships are important to our well-being, and giving is more beneficial than receiving.
Big Idea #1: Our mind is divided: or the human mind as a rational rider on a wild elephant.
Have you ever noticed how hard it is to make New Year’s resolutions? It’s easy to start them, but difficult to keep them. Why does that happen? Because the mind isn’t a unit, but two parts: an elephant and a rider. The rider tries his best to control the elephant, which can be seen in several ways:
First, we cannot fully control the body with conscious thought. For example, our heart rate is not decided by rational decisions. Instead, it’s controlled by a second brain that acts independently from the mind called the “gut brain.” Second, and more importantly, this division between two brains is reflected in how they’re structured. While older structures like the limbic system are in charge of basic instincts such as sex and hunger, newer areas of the brain such as neocortex control reasoning and inhibition which allows us to keep those desires in check. This can be seen most clearly when someone has damage to their neocortex; if they’re hungry or sexually aroused they can’t stop themselves from acting on those urges even though their rational mind knows better.
The rider is in charge of the elephant. The elephant represents our basic drives, instincts and emotions. In reality, we are more likely to let our emotions control us than use logic or reason when making decisions; therefore, the elephant tends to be stronger than the rider.
Big Idea #2: Although genes influence our happiness, changing our thinking style can make us happier.
Many self-help books talk about how things are not inherently good or bad, but only our thinking makes them so.
It’s not easy to change our way of thinking. It requires a lot of work and effort, but it can be done with the right techniques. In fact, since we’re conditioned to respond more strongly to bad things than good ones, we’ve evolved over time into very negative thinkers.
For example, if we came face to face with a wild animal, we would feel fear and anxiety that would prompt us to flee. However, if something is already in our possession (something like joy), it isn’t necessary for us to have more of it because we already have some.
Just like an elephant is startled by a mouse, we become worried when faced with stressful situations.
But our genetics also have a large impact on how we think. For example, one study showed that babies who were left-brain dominant were happier than right-brain dominant babies as they grew up. Another study found that 50 to 80 percent of someone’s happiness is determined by their genetic makeup. Therefore, the rider cannot control the elephant at will. However, the rider can train the elephant to be more optimistic with meditation and cognitive therapy techniques such as replacing negative thoughts with positive ones or recognizing self-blaming thought patterns in order to heal depression.
