You’d be forgiven for believing happiness to be an intangible feeling too abstract to define. The reality, however, is more cerebral than that. There is a science to happiness, explained positive psychologist and author Miriam Ahktar when she sat down to speak with Samantha Simmonds at our Future of Happiness event on Tuesday, 6 July.
Ms Akhtar, who holds a master’s degree in the science of happiness, explained that the past 50 years have seen a sea change in the study of her chosen area of expertise. Rather than focusing on finding a reason for what is wrong with a certain individual’s mental state, psychologists and other mental health professionals have shifted to questioning what makes people happy. What are the ingredients of well-being? Over the course of the discussion, Ms Akhtar introduced us to the concept of ‘encore careers’; reminded us that happiness is wanting what we have, and not having what we want; and most scientifically of all, gave us the literal formula for happiness.
If you missed the event, you can watch it below. Alternatively, you can download the interview on Spotify.
This was the last in our Invested for the Future virtual event series. To view the other events in this series, please use the links below.