Don’t chase happiness. Become antifragile, with Tal Ben-Shahar
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Antifragility is the idea of putting pressure on a system, or human, the system or human actually grows bigger and stronger. 

Antifragile systems are all around us. One example of this is our muscular system. We go to the gym to lift weights. By doing so we are putting pressure on our system to help it grow stronger. The human body is an antifragile system. 

From a psychological perspective, antifragility comes in the form of PTG, or post-traumatic growth. After we experience a stressful event, we learn and grow to become more resilient. 

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Read the video transcript: https://bigthink.com/videos/happiness/

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About Tal Ben-Shahar:
Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar is an internationally renowned teacher and author in the fields of happiness and leadership. After graduating from Harvard with a BA in Philosophy and Psychology and a PhD in Organizational Behavior, Tal taught two of the most popular courses in Harvard’s history: Positive Psychology and The Psychology of Leadership. He then taught Happiness Studies at Columbia University. A prolific writer, Tal's books have appeared on best-sellers lists around the world and have been translated into more than 30 languages.

Tal Ben-Shahar consults and lectures to executives in multinational corporations, educational institutions, and the general public. Topics include leadership, education, ethics, happiness, self-esteem, resilience, goal setting and mindfulness. Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar is also the co-founder of the Happiness Studies Academy. Learn more here: https://www.happinessstudies.academy/

Tal is an avid sportsman and a certified yoga instructor whose work bridges Eastern and Western traditions, ancient wisdom and modern technology, science and art.

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Read more of our stories on happiness: 
Epicurus and the atheist’s guide to happiness
►►https://bigthink.com/thinking/epicureanism-greek-philosophy-atheists-happiness/ 
The meaning of happiness, according to a baker in ancient Pompeii
►► https://bigthink.com/the-past/ancient-rome-happiness/ 
How to avoid “toxic positivity” and take the less direct route to happiness
 ►► https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/avoid-toxic-positivity/ 

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There are only 2 kinds of people who do not experience painful emotions.

There is a false understanding or expectation that a happy life means being happy all the time.

No, learning to accept and even embrace painful emotions is an important part of a happy life, and the study of painful emotions is an important part of the field of happiness studies.

I'm a student and teacher in the field of happiness studies, and my most recent book is Happier No Matter What.

that was introduced by Nassim Taleb, and that is anti-fragility.

Anti-fragility is essentially Resilience 2.0.

Resilience 1.0 is when we put pressure on a system.

After the pressure is lifted, that system goes back to its original

Anti-fragility takes this idea a step further.

You put pressure on a system, it actually grows bigger, stronger.

We see antifragile systems all around us and within us.

On the psychological level, you know what that's called?

So where post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, is about breaking down, post-traumatic growth is about growing stronger as a result of pressure, stress, it's anti-fragility.

The role of the science of happiness is to teach us what conditions we can put in place to increase the likelihood of growing from hardship.

Now, there is a paradox when it comes to pursuing happiness.

On the 1 hand, we know that happiness is a good thing, whether in and

of itself or as a means toward other ends.

and others, that people who say to themselves, happiness is important for me, I want to pursue it, those individuals actually end up being less happy.

In fact, they're more likely to experience depression.

So the paradox is that on the 1 hand, happiness is clearly a good thing.

On the other hand, valuing it as a good thing is problematic.

The way to resolve this paradox is that we pursue happiness indirectly.

So if I look at the Sun directly, it's going to hurt my eyes.

However, if I break down sunlight into its elements, into its constituents,

So I'm indirectly looking at the sunlight, enjoying it, savoring it.

In the same way, pursuing happiness directly can cause more harm than good, but breaking it down into its elements can lead us to enjoy the indirect pursuit of happiness and by extension, to raise our overall levels of happiness.

What are the metaphorical colors of the rainbow when it comes to happiness?

SPIRE is an acronym that stands for spiritual, physical, intellectual,

relational, and finally, emotional well-being.

Spirituality is about finding a sense of meaning and purpose in life at work and at home.

in the morning with a purpose you're more likely to overcome barriers.

the most important idea to look at is stress, the silent killer.

of the employees do not use up their vacation time.

And even those that do, close to half are still tethered to their work.

is not the stress, it's the lack of recovery.

With intellectual well-being, there's research showing that people who are curious, who ask questions are not just happier, they also live longer.

Another important element is not just asking questions, it's deeply engaging with material.

It can be text, a work of art, even nature.

is quality time we spend with people we care about and who care about us.

And it turns out the number 1 condition that we can put in place to increase the likelihood of anti-fragility, of growing through hardship, is the quality of our relationships.

So embracing painful emotions is critical.

Cicero talked about gratitude as the mother of all virtues.

When we appreciate the good in our life, we have more of it.

These 5 elements together create that sunlight, happiness.

I don't think there is a point before which 1 is unhappy, after which 1 is happy.

Rather, happiness resides on a continuum.

And knowing that, we can have realistic rather than unrealistic expectations about what is possible.

I do not think that things necessarily happen for the best.

However, we can learn to make the best of things that happen.

Get smarter faster with videos from the world's biggest thinkers.

To learn even more from the world's biggest thinkers, get Big Think Plus for your business.


Speaker 0: There are only 2 kinds of people who do not experience painful emotions. The first kind are the psychopaths. The second kind are dead. There is a false understanding or expectation that a happy life means being happy all the time. No, learning to accept and even embrace painful emotions is an important part of a happy life, and the study of painful emotions is an important part of the field of happiness studies.

My name is Tal Ben-Shahar. I'm a student and teacher in the field of happiness studies, and my most recent book is Happier No Matter What.

Speaker 1: There is a very important concept

Speaker 0: that was introduced by Nassim Taleb, and that is anti-fragility. Anti-fragility is essentially Resilience 2.0.

Speaker 1: Resilience 1.0 is when we put pressure on a system. After the pressure is lifted, that system goes back to its original

Speaker 0: form. Anti-fragility takes this idea a step further. You put pressure on a system, it actually grows bigger, stronger.

Speaker 1: We see antifragile systems all around us and within us. For example, our muscular system. We go to the gym and we lift weights.

Speaker 0: We're putting pressure on our muscles. What happens as a result? We actually grow stronger. We're an anti-fragile system. On the psychological level, you know what that's called?

PTG, post-traumatic growth. So where post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, is about breaking down, post-traumatic growth is about growing stronger as a result of pressure, stress, it's anti-fragility. The role of the science of happiness is to teach us what conditions we can put in place to increase the likelihood of growing from hardship.

Speaker 1: Now, there is a paradox when it comes to pursuing happiness. On the 1 hand, we know that happiness is a good thing, whether in and

Speaker 0: of itself or as a means toward other ends. At the same time,

Speaker 1: we also know from research by Iris Moss

Speaker 0: and others, that people who say to themselves, happiness is important for me, I want to pursue it, those individuals actually end up being less happy. In fact, they're more likely to experience depression. So the paradox is that on the 1 hand, happiness is clearly a good thing. On the other hand, valuing it as a good thing is problematic. So what do we do?

The way to resolve this paradox is that we pursue happiness indirectly. Think about sunlight. So if I look at the Sun directly, it's going to hurt my eyes. However, if I break down sunlight into its elements, into its constituents,

Speaker 1: I can look at the colors of the rainbow.

Speaker 0: So I'm indirectly looking at the sunlight, enjoying it, savoring it. In the same way, pursuing happiness directly can cause more harm than good, but breaking it down into its elements can lead us to enjoy the indirect pursuit of happiness and by extension, to raise our overall levels of happiness.

Speaker 1: What are the metaphorical colors of the rainbow when it comes to happiness? Here we have what I've come

Speaker 0: to call the SPIRE model, and

Speaker 1: it can trigger the antifragile

Speaker 0: system. SPIRE is an acronym that stands for spiritual, physical, intellectual,

Speaker 1: relational, and finally, emotional well-being.

Speaker 0: Spirituality is about finding a sense of meaning and purpose in life at work and at home. If you wake up

Speaker 1: in the morning with a purpose you're more likely to overcome barriers. When it comes to physical well-being,

Speaker 0: the most important idea to look at is stress, the silent killer.

Speaker 1: In the United States, more than half

Speaker 0: of the employees do not use up their vacation time.

Speaker 1: And even those that do, close to half are still tethered to their work. The problem

Speaker 0: is not the stress, it's the lack of recovery. With intellectual well-being, there's research showing that people who are curious, who ask questions are not just happier, they also live longer. Another important element is not just asking questions, it's deeply engaging with material. It can be text, a work of art, even nature. Relational

Speaker 1: well-being is very important. The number 1 predictor of happiness

Speaker 0: is quality time we spend with people we care about and who care about us. And it turns out the number 1 condition that we can put in place to increase the likelihood of anti-fragility, of growing through hardship, is the quality of our relationships. Finally, emotional well-being. So embracing painful emotions is critical. But how do

Speaker 1: we then cultivate pleasurable ones?

Speaker 0: Specifically, the emotion of gratitude.

Speaker 1: Cicero talked about gratitude as the mother of all virtues. When we appreciate the good in our life, we have more of it.

Speaker 0: So happiness is much more than pleasure. Happiness is whole being. These 5 elements together create that sunlight, happiness. I don't think there is a point before which 1 is unhappy, after which 1 is happy. Rather, happiness resides on a continuum.

It's a lifelong journey. And knowing that, we can have realistic rather than unrealistic expectations about what is possible. I do not think that things necessarily happen for the best. However, we can learn to make the best of things that happen.

Speaker 1: Get smarter faster with videos from the world's biggest thinkers. To learn even more from the world's biggest thinkers, get Big Think Plus for your business.

See all Big Think transcripts on Youtube

Don’t chase happiness. Become antifragile | Tal Ben-Shahar | Big Think