What if everything we’ve been told about happiness is wrong? So wrong that it’s making us miserable? On this episode, I chat with Stephanie Harrison, an expert in the science of happiness and the creator of the New Happy philosophy. Stephanie’s journey began when she realized that having everything she ever wanted still left her feeling deeply unhappy. Over the next ten years, she set out to discover what truly makes people happy, and her findings might surprise you. Stephanie has compiled her insights into her debut book, New Happy. We discuss the three lies that society tells us about happiness: that we need to be perfect, constantly achieve more, and do everything alone. We’ll also explore a counterintuitive truth: to be truly happy, we need to help others find happiness.
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Show Notes
- Why Stephanie embarked on a 10-year journey to study happiness (2:06)
- Happiness comes from helping to make other people happy (3:30)
- Three lies you’ve been conditioned to believe about happiness (6:46)
- Embrace your authentic self and extend it to others (8:45)
- Why it’s important to shift focus from the outcome to the process of becoming (9:53)
- How we’ve become distracted in our pursuit of happiness (11:33)
- When you’re having a bad day, go help someone (14:12)
- The impact of growing up in an achievement-oriented culture on your happiness (17:03)
- Believing that you are worthy of happiness (20:26)
- Putting her happiness hypothesis to work in the real world (22:24)
- Happiness is contagious (26:21)
- Find the unique ways that you can serve others (27:25)
- The values that are correlated with happiness (29:00)
- You are struggling to find your purpose because you are asking the wrong question (29:58)
- How to recognize when you’re unhappy (33:23)
- The Artist’s Way morning pages practice (36:25)
- Why she started her company The New Happy (38:37)
Resources / People Mentioned
- New Happy
- New Happy by Stephanie Harrison
- Thrive Global
- The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
- Flourish by Martin Seligman
- Kristen Neff
Recommended For You
Did you enjoy this episode? Then listen to:
- Shawn Achor on The Happiness Advantage
- Jenn Lim on Delivering Happiness At Work
- Gretchen Rubin on Habits to Increase Your Happiness
Thanks for checking out Game Changers with Molly Fletcher. Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app and leave a rating or review.
