Name: 【TED】Emily Esfahani Smith: There's more to life than being happy (There's more to life than being happy | Emily Esfahani Smith)
Uploaded: 2018-11-25T21:01:10.000Z
Duration: 12 min 19 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

the whole purpose of life was pursuing happiness.

Everyone said the path to happiness was success,

that perfect boyfriend, that beautiful apartment.

And I wasn't alone; my friends -- they struggled with this, too.

Eventually, I decided to go to graduate school for positive psychology

But what I discovered there changed my life.

The data showed that chasing happiness can make people unhappy.

the suicide rate has been rising around the world,

and it recently reached a 30-year high in America.

Even though life is getting objectively better

There's an emptiness gnawing away at people,

and you don't have to be clinically depressed to feel it.

And according to the research, what predicts this despair

And what's the difference between being happy

Many psychologists define happiness as a state of comfort and ease,

The renowned psychologist Martin Seligman says

meaning comes from belonging to and serving something beyond yourself

but I came to see that seeking meaning is the more fulfilling path.

And the studies show that people who have meaning in life,

To find out, I spent five years interviewing hundreds of people

and reading through thousands of pages of psychology,

I found that there are what I call four pillars of a meaningful life.

by building some or all of these pillars in our lives.

Belonging comes from being in relationships

where you're valued for who you are intrinsically

But some groups and relationships deliver a cheap form of belonging;

and it's a choice -- you can choose to cultivate belonging with others.

Each morning, my friend Jonathan buys a newspaper

They don't just conduct a transaction, though.

But one time, Jonathan didn't have the right change,

so he went to the store and bought something he didn't need

But when he gave the money to the vendor,

I think we all reject people in small ways like this without realizing it.

I'll walk by someone I know and barely acknowledge them.

I'll check my phone when someone's talking to me.

They make them feel invisible and unworthy.

But when you lead with love, you create a bond

For many people, belonging is the most essential source of meaning,

For others, the key to meaning is the second pillar: purpose.

Now, finding your purpose is not the same thing

as finding that job that makes you happy.

Purpose is less about what you want than about what you give.

A hospital custodian told me her purpose is healing sick people.

The key to purpose is using your strengths to serve others.

Of course, for many of us, that happens through work.

That's how we contribute and feel needed.

Subtitles ListPlay Video

【TED】Emily Esfahani Smith: There's more to life than being happy (There's more to life than being happy | Emily Esfahani Smith)

eventually

embrace

practice

realize