Happiness has had its own mood swings in the past decade. First, we learnt that it’s more satisfying to plant our own salad rocket than to build a McMansion. The Happiness Project gave us proof of love. We sparked joy Marie Kondo-ing our wardrobes and rolling our T-shirts. Then Instagram happened. We compared, we lamented, we read inspirational quotes to pick us back up. But happiness was in a downward spiral, with anxiety and loneliness spiking especially among younger people. By 2018, the most popular class at Yale — in the iconic university’s history of all its classes ever — was Psychology and the Good Life, taught by Laurie Santos (check out her talks on YouTube), with nearly one out of four undergrads forgoing philosophy and physics to learn how to be happier.
Now the pursuit of happiness is taking a new tack. Harnessing the science and plasticity of the brain, psychology and our digital devices (or not), we’re embracing the negative and letting our low mental states guide us to higher ground. Imperfection is the new perfection, self-honesty is all the rage and our anxiety is helping us find our bliss.
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