Daniel Gilbert is a professor of psychology at Harvard and the author of the book Stumbling on Happiness. In this TED Talk from 2004, he introduces the concept of the “psychological immune system,” which is capable of changing the way we see the world and “synthesizing” happiness in the face of adversity. He contrasts natural happiness – how we feel when get what we want – with synthetic happiness – what our brain produces when we don’t – and describes how the “experience simulators” that our brains use to predict future events tend to overestimate the impact of achieving our desires. The lesson? Don’t punish yourself in the pursuit of what you want, because the ability to make real happiness from your present condition is an innate feature of your psychological repertoire. As for why Americans have such a strong preference for natural happiness (via getting what we want), Gilbert explains that “it’s very simple. What kind of economic engine would keep churning if we believed that not getting what we want could make us just as happy as getting it?”
WHAT IS HAPPINESS? 