“Pleasure, Satisfaction, and Meaning” – Syracuse University News

Bestselling author and Harvard professor Arthur C. Brooks began his lecture at Syracuse University by asking the audience of hundreds a simple question: “What is happiness?”

He then said that when he asks that question in his classes, almost no one raises their hand. When he visits students, they inevitably describe the feeling they have when they are around family or doing something they enjoy, he said.

Brooks tells them, “’That’s beautiful. That’s beautiful. That’s wrong! ”

New York Times bestselling author and former Maxwell professor Arthur C. Brooks discussed the secrets of happiness at an Oct. 30 event at the National Veterans Resource Center.

“And it’s good news that it’s wrong,” he explained. “Because if you’re looking for a feeling to find your happiness, you’re going after a vape. You transfer your happiness to forces beyond your control. You go to bed at night and say, boy, I really hope I feel happy tomorrow. And in fact that is how many people live.”

Brooks’ lecture, “How to Be Happier in an Unhappy World,” was delivered Oct. 30 at the KG Tan Auditorium at the National Veterans Resource Center. The lecture was hosted by the Maxwell School and sponsored by the D’Aniello Family Foundation. the Louis A. Bantle Chair in Business-Public Policy and the Howard G. and S. Louise Phanstiel Chair in Leadership.

Brooks taught at Maxwell from 2001 to 2009. In addition to his position on the Harvard faculty, he writes the popular weekly column “How to Build a Life” for The Atlantic and is the #1 New York Times bestselling author with 13 books. , including “Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier” (Penguin Random House, 2023), co-authored with Oprah Winfrey.

Brooks’ focus on the scientific study of happiness began when he ended his time as president of the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank in Washington, DC. His Harvard class on the subject typically has a waiting list of several hundred students.

“It’s the most oversubscribed elective in business school,” Brooks told the Syracuse audience, “which is weird when you think about it. I mean, it’s a business curriculum and I teach about happiness.”

But Brooks claims it’s popular because he teaches students the business of a lifetime.

“I reinforce the idea that their lives are entrepreneurial and they are the founders,” Brooks said. “They are the people building this incredible business. The fortune they are trying to make is in love and happiness, and that is what I want to help them get better at.”

So, what are the secrets of happiness?

“What we know in this area, based on both behavioral science and neuroscience, is that the happiest people have three things, both in balance and in abundance,” Brooks said. “They are pleasure, satisfaction and meaning. Those are the three components of happiness. Do you want to be a happier person? Those are things to strive for.”

Brooks spoke in depth about each of the three and how individuals can work to improve the ingredients of happiness in their own lives. He also shared his four pillars of happiness: faith, family, friendship and work. Faith, he explained, does not require religion, but can also come from something as simple as enjoying a beautiful moment in nature.

Brooks’ lecture concluded a daylong visit that included a lunch with Maxwell and leaders in the arts and sciences, as well as meetings with faculty, staff and university leaders.

“It was so nice to have Arthur back on campus, to not only speak to this audience, but also to interact with our students and see many old friends,” said Maxwell Dean David M. Van Slyke. “His insights into achieving happiness are helping people around the world, and I hope everyone who heard his comments and spent time with him learned something about this important topic and about themselves.”

Brooks’ work on happiness can be found at ArthurBrooks.com.