#52 – Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar

Tal is an author, serial entrepreneur and lecturer who taught two of the largest and most popular classes in Harvard University’s history, ‘Positive Psychology’ and ‘The Psychology of Leadership.’ He is one of the world’s leading experts on the topic of Happiness and is the man behind the works: ‘Choose The Life You Want’, ‘Being Happy’ and ‘Happier’ which have been translated into more than 25 languages and have appeared on the top best-sellers lists all around the world. He has also co-founded numerous companies including; The Wholebeing Institute, Potentialife, and most recently Happier TV.

In This Episode:

Tal describes the motivation behind launching his latest project ‘Happier TV’
We learn about an experiment conducted by the German Psychologist Fritz Struck and it’s truly fascinating discovery.
Tal describes the difference between Positive Psychology and traditional psychology studies.
He explains some of the dangers of trying to medicate away every painful emotion that we experience.
We learn how the happiest people are those that open themselves up and allow themselves to truly feel the full range of human emotions, not people who try and suppress or somehow get rid of painful emotions when they arise.
The no. 1 predictor of wellbeing and happiness is quality time we spend with family and friends. However in our modern world the amount of this quality time is eroding more and more. Tal discusses some of things we can do about this.
“There’s actually a direct correlation between loneliness and the amount of time that we spend in front of a screen”.
We learn what ‘Time Affluence’ is.
Why do we all need to SIMPLIFY and focus on DOING LESS stuff rather than more?
What are the dangers of modern society living such sedentary lifestyles?
“Regular physical exercise has the exact same effect on our psychological wellbeing as our most powerful psychiatric medication”
Tal shares the advice he received from his Philosophy teacher after graduating from college.
What does a fulfilled life mean to Tal?
What is 1 thing all our listeners can do today that will have a massive positive effect on their lives?
Which books or resources have changed/had a big impact on your life?