Can a popular psychologist and YouTube sensation who’s most known for fighting the tyranny of political correctness help readers create a “happily ever after” ending in their own lives?
Author of the bestselling book “The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense,” professor Gad Saad took a departure from his typical style of writing, going from descriptive to prescriptive after many of his followers posed a surprising question. They wanted to know his secret to writing about difficult topics while being able to smile, joke, and genuinely appear to enjoy life.
His latest book is called “The Saad Truth About Happiness: 8 Secrets for Leading the Good Life.”
“It was very daunting in that probably the topic philosophers have most written ever about is the good life and happiness,” Mr. Saad told The Epoch Times. “The question is, can I write something that’s fresh and unique—and so the way I tackled that difficulty is ... I tried to marry my personal life trajectory with ancient wisdom backed up by contemporary science.”
He shared some of the secrets from his book with The Epoch Times.
Is There a Universal Definition of Happiness?
Mr. Saad believes most people would agree on a long-term perspective that focuses less on the material and more on relationships, though the definition can have varied cultural connotations.“Happiness is not the dopamine hit that you bought another pair of stilettos or that Maserati that you’d always been dreaming of. Those tickle your pleasure center. They’re momentary. They are fleeting, and hence dopamine,” said Mr. Saad. “It’s the serotonin in contentment. It’s me sitting on the proverbial porch when I’m 85 and saying, ‘I’ve had a great marriage. I’ve raised great kids. I’ve had a profession that’s given me a great deal of meaning. I have a great bunch of friends that I can love and trust. It’s an existential happiness.”
Why the Modern World of Ease Isn’t Bringing More Joy
The strongest and largest trees are the ones that mature slowly and succumb to the most stressors—wind that allows them to sway, for instance. It’s a field of study called seismomorphogenesis, how movement affects plants, and it’s been used architecturally to reduce structural brittleness, Mr. Saad explained.Related Stories
Humans, he said, can learn to adapt and thrive by adopting anti-fragility and embracing failure. People can even choose to train themselves to experience hardship in order to maximize resilience.
“If everything in life is easy, that’s not the pathway to optimal flourishing. You actually need to be exposed to stressors to be maximally happy,” Mr. Saad said. “I don’t think you can live a fulfilling life if you always take the shortcuts that make things easier, more comfortable for you. Once in a while, you need to challenge yourself.”
On the Key Ingredients to Happiness
There are two ingredients that dramatically increase your odds of happiness: your spouse and your career.“There are these two opposing maxims from evolutionary psychology. There’s the ‘opposites attract’ and ‘the birds of a feather flock together,’” Mr. Saad said. “It turns out that for success of increasing your long-term union of marriage, it’s overwhelmingly the case that ‘birds of a feather flock together’ is the operative mechanism.”
The feathers in question, he added, are a shared system of beliefs and values. That’s not to say an atheist and a devoted Catholic couldn’t have a fantastic marriage. It’s all about statistical favor.
When it comes to a career, Mr. Saad says there are two components to happiness—a profession that allows you to immerse yourself in creative impulses and one that has great temporal freedom. If you happen to work a job that mandates bathroom breaks, don’t give up hope. He said seeking a creative outlet can happen off the clock if necessary.
“How about instead of going home and passively watching TV for five hours, you go out and take that glass blowing class you’ve been wanting to take?” he said. “That’s a mindset that can give us a great sense of purpose and meaning. I work way longer hours than most people. I don’t feel like I am working. The fact that I can vagabond around my day gives me great happiness.”
How Gratitude Nudges Us To Happiness
One of the most inspiring guests on Mr. Saad’s podcast, David McCallum, is a wrongfully imprisoned man who spent nearly three decades behind bars yet is forgiving, wise, and well-adjusted after his release. His reason: He compared his own suffering to a sister who had cerebral palsy and was bedridden her whole life.Though Mr. Gaad confesses such a situation would make him full of anger and a desire for revenge, he does use his own traumatic childhood experience of having escaped the Lebanese Civil War to put present sufferings in perspective.
“Having gone through this very difficult hardship and stressor helps me always contextualize the things I’m whining about today. In the grand scheme of things, it’s all good.”
