The Spin Episode 7 - What makes you happy?

The Spin

Episode 7?! Wow that came around quickly. In our latest episode we took the opportunity to revisit the original purpose of The Spin and pivoted slightly the format very slightly. See if you notice!

From the confines of his mobile studio (aka his car in his garage), Kristen answered the question ‘What makes you happy?’.

We hope you enjoy the pod!

The Spin

Do you remember what The Spin is all about? Well we think the world is changing at a crazy rate. It can be exciting but scary all at the same time. We want to give you our spin on a variety of subjects to make sure you’re ready to embrace that world today and in the future.

With that in mind we’re shifting the format very slightly. In each episode one of us will explore a topic and bring that to the virtual table. Kristen drew the short straw so he’s up first!

The happy research

1. Laurie Santos – Professor at Yale and her podcast The Happiness Lab
2. Daniel Kahneman – a psychologist and economist notable for his work on the psychology of judgment, decision-making and behavioral economics
3. The Harvard study of Adult development, Robert Waldinger

Definition of happiness

So how do we define happiness? Wikipedia defines it as:

A feeling of pleasure and positivity. When someone feels good, proud, excited, relieved or satisfied about something, that person is said to be "happy". Happiness is usually thought of as the opposite of sadness.

Danny’s research

The idea of ‘happiness’ involves 2 key points:

1. Being happy in your life (experience)
2. Being happy with your life (memory as satisfaction is retrospective).

He also concluded that making more than $75,000 per year doesn't make you significantly happier on any given day. So money don’t buy you happiness!

The 80 year old study

The biggest influence on this episode is rooted in this research. It’s a 79 year old study following two groups of participants - Harvard sophomores and Boston’s poorest kids with disadvantaged backgrounds. It addresses the compelling question what keeps people happy and healthy?

Robert Waldinger who leads the research concludes:

1. Social connections are really good for us and loneliness kills, connection to family, friends, community - lead to people that are happier, they are physically healthier and they live longer than those less well connected.
2. Its not the number of friends (fortunately for Mark), it's the quality of the relationships.
3. Good relationships protect our bodies and they protect our brains.

Top tips

1. Reflect on your own relationships, what can you do to support them more?
2. Be present, experience in the moment is important, looking back retrospectively is shaped by memory and small things can ruin or make memories
3. Know that once you get to a certain income level (of $75k) and basic needs are met, more money won’t make you much happier - continued investment in quality relationships will and that is largely within your control
4. Try something new - meet new people

Hi lo end of the show

• Take a look at Kristen’s course on financial markets so he can talk to you about stocks
• Alternatively watch Waco on Netflix

Until next time!