A scientific perspective on happiness

Do you remember your childhood, when you were a very cheerful child? If you can't recall what you were like back then, observe the children around you. Were they easily satisfied with simple things? Just an ice cream cone, a small gift, or even a puddle of rainwater seemed to bring them joy and happiness. But as they grow older, they gradually lose that carefree spirit, replaced by anxious comparisons and competition.

Bruce Hood has been Professor of Developmental Psychology in Society at the University of Bristol, UK, since 1999. He earned his PhD in neuroscience from Cambridge University and subsequently taught at University College London (UCL), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Harvard University.

He studies child development, self-identity, and autonomy. For the past five years, he has focused on how to make people happier. He has written five popular science books published in over thirty countries, and "The Science of Happiness: Seven Lessons for Living Well" is his most recent work.

According to Professor Bruce Hood, the problem isn't the external world , but rather our failure to learn how to shift our self-perception to become happier. In his book "The Source of Happiness," Bruce Hood points out that most young children are self-centered, or egocentric. Their minds have almost no room for regrets about the past or anxieties about the future.

As they grow up and enter the competitive world of exams, relationships, social media, and work, they find themselves no longer the center of attention. They must learn to fit in with others who are also competing for status and recognition.

However, we may still be trapped in our own selfish world, a mindset that focuses on our own problems and exaggerates everything. We don't consider that others have their own problems, or if they do, their problems can't compare to ours. But if we stubbornly keep ourselves at the center, that selfishness risks distorting our perspective and leading us to unhappiness.

Bruce Hood stated, "If we want to be happier, we ourselves must undergo a fundamental shift in our understanding of life. We must abandon the notion of a self-centered universe surrounded by others; that is, we need to recognize our place and how to empathize with one another."

But another problem is that sometimes we turn happiness into an external goal. We constantly compare ourselves to others, fantasize about a prosperous future, or worry about things beyond our control. These things cause us to detach ourselves from the present moment – ​​where true happiness lies.

Furthermore, social isolation is also a reason why we don't feel happy. Today, with the development of technology and social media, we can easily connect with people all over the world. However, there is growing evidence that technology is making people less happy.

A 2017 study by the University of Pittsburgh indicated that the more time young people spend on social media, the more likely they are to feel isolated. Another study conducted with over 1,000 Chinese university students showed that the lonelier people are, the more likely they are to rely on social media for connection, but this actually makes them feel even lonelier over time.

“We are currently at a turning point in human development, where modern lifestyles and digital innovations are shaping how we behave and choose the world we live in. More and more of us are choosing to live in more crowded cities, but paradoxically, we are becoming increasingly isolated,” Bruce Hood observes.

As a scientific researcher, Professor Bruce Hood has always sought to decipher happiness based on the power of data and evidence to draw compelling conclusions about how to live a happy life. Through four decades of research in neuroscience and developmental psychology, he asserts that happiness is a state that can be cultivated.

In his book "The Source of Happiness," Bruce Hood not only helps readers understand the root causes of unhappiness but also provides methods for achieving greater happiness through seven lessons he has distilled. He applied these lessons to participants in a pilot course on "The Science of Happiness" at the University of Bristol. The results, measured by happiness levels among participants, showed a significant increase in positive scores: 10-15% within ten weeks of the course. "The best path to happiness is to be less selfish and live more for others," Bruce Hood concludes.

Combining scientific data with a humanistic message, "The Source of Happiness" offers a completely fresh perspective on the origins of happiness.

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/goc-nhin-khoa-hoc-ve-hanh-phuc.html