The Happiness Equation: Want Nothing + Do Anything = Have Everything

Index

A

Academy Awards, 12, 48, 198

Acceptance, 58–59

Access, blocking, 189–94, 197–201, 203, 204

Achor, Shawn, 6

Activity theory, 106

Adrenaline, 73, 149, 180

Age-segregated housing developments, 108

Alf (television series), 137

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Carroll), 104, 242

Altucher, James, 252

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (movie), 48

Amabile, Teresa, 41

American Psychologist, 19

American Psychosomatic Society, 20

Amygdala, 73–75

scribble, 73

Amygdala Hijack, 74, 84

Anxiety, 147, 183, 198

about decisions, xx, 123, 170

See also Stress

Apologize, 57–58

Archimedes, 155, 158

Aristotle, ix, 15

Arrogance, 52

Aston, Peter, 160–61

Attitude, 6

choosing, 15

positive, 25–26, 252, 261

poster, 17–18

Authenticity, 237, 239–41, 243–44

dying regrets related to lack of, 254–56

sharing, 257–58

tests to uncover, 245–53

Automate, 174, 177–78

B

Babyak, Michael, 20

Baydin email-management service, 192

BBC, 36

Beatles, The, 67, 193

Be Happy First, 5–28

Be Happy scribble, 6

Bestsellers, 35–36, 38, 43, 45, 48, 176, 225

Beta, Toba, 124

Be You, 237–58

Bhagavad Gita, 257

Bible, 193

Big 7 List scribble, 20

Birds, The (movie), 157

Bismarck, Otto von, 105–6

Blog stats, 33–34, 38

Bohr, Niels, 155, 158

Bono, 115

Book of Awesome, The, 35–36, 119

Boston University, 41

Brahmans, 60–61

Brain, ix, 73–75, 111, 134, 193–203, 217, 264

activation of different parts of, 151, 155–58

authenticity and, 243–44

benefit of removing choice for, 161, 167, 170–71, 175–79

effect of attitude on, 6, 7, 18

evolution of, 74, 114

exercising, to prevent atrophy of, 110–11

impact of external vs. internal rewards on, 38, 40–41

problem-solving vs. rational thought structures of, 73–75, 84

programmed for survival, 8–14, 74

retraining, for happiness, xx, 19–24

tricking, 222–23

Brandeis University, 41

British Columbia, University of, 248

British Medical Journal, 120

Brown University, 249

Buddha, 55, 60–61, 67

Buffett, Warren, 115

Burning, 148–51, 203, 204

“‘Busy’ Trap, The” (Kreider), 203

Burning out, xiv, 147, 150, 243

C

Cain, David, 9

California, University of, 17

Calvin and Hobbes, 188, 202

Can Do/Want to Do scribbles

circle, 219, 224, 231

flowchart, 217, 219

Carnegie, Dale, 247

Carr, Nicholas, 176

Carroll, Lewis, 104

Catch-22 (Heller), 80–81

CEOs, xiii, 7, 39, 47, 147, 164

creating space by, 154, 184–85, 190–92, 281

in Culture of More, 83

decision making by, xxi, 160, 162, 172

presentations to, 74–75

Challenger disaster, 156

Challenge(s), xx, 14, 189

creating space for, 159, 175

engagement in, 22

retirement vs. continuing, 123–25

seven-day, ix

Challenge vs. Skill scribble, 23

Change, need for, 110–12

Cheers (television series), 193

Childhood trauma, 213–15

China

ancient, 101

Great Wall of, 193

Choices, making, see Decision making

Christakis, Nicholas, 252

Cicero, Marcus Tullius, 209

Circular reference to the Index, 277

Circumstances scribble, 17

Cleese, John, 198–99

Clichés, 265–67

Closed mode, 198–99

CNN, 36

Coca-Cola Corporation, 121

Cognitive dissonance, 243

Comedy writing, 41–42, 222–23, 226

Columbia University, 248–49

Complete Unplug, 22

Confidence, 49, 185, 192, 228, 245, 258

in decision making, 161

Five-People Test for, 253

impact of external goals on, 38

increasing, 51–55

motivation and, 220, 221, 223

self-acceptance and, 56–59, 64

sources of, 230

Confidence scribble, 46

Arrogant, 52

Confident, 55

Cynical, 55

Insecure, 53

Conflicting advice, 263–64

Conflicting Advice scribble, 266–67

Connected (Christakis and Fowler), 252

Consultants, 133–35, 147, 150–52

Consumer economy, see More, Culture of

Convent, positive emotions and longevity in, 25–26

Cornell University, 248

Corning Corporation, 107

Cosmopolitan magazine, 42

Cover Girl makeup, 162

Crawford, Lynn, 174–75

Create Space, 147–205

Creative indifference, 264

Creativity, 154–55, 199, 252

Criticism, blocking, see Do It for You

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, 19, 22

Cynicism, 54

D

Daily Mail, The, 254

Dalai Lama, 115

Dana Foundation, 110

Dartmouth College, 249

Davies, W. H., 204–5

Deadlines, 87, 120, 149–50, 183

moving up, 186–88

Debate, 174, 178–79

Deci, Edward, 43

Decision making, xix, xxi, 160, 162, 172

anxiety about, xx, 123, 170

bad, due to excessive choices, 167–70, 171–76

exhaustion caused by, 164–67

at twice the speed, 160–79

by establishing and following one’s own rules, 170–71

prioritizing, 174–79

by routinizing clothing choices, 162–64

DeGeneres, Ellen, 115

Del Webb, 108

Dewey Decimal System, 237

Dickens, Charles, 24

Dilbert, 197

Disagree, agree to, ix

Disaster, facing triumph and, 62–65

Disengagement, 22

DNA, 110

Do Anything, 93–208

Do Circle Scribble, 219, 220, 224, 227, 231

Doing, balance between thinking and, 147–53

Do It for You, 31–67

Do Scribble, 217, 219

Don’t Take Advice, 261–68

Dying

after mandatory retirement, 97–99, 123

regrets of, 93, 254–56

E

Early Show, The (television program), 36

Economist, The, 182

Effectuate, 174, 178

Einstein, Albert, 227

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 243

Emmons, Robert, 23–24

Emmy Awards, 222

Emotions, 59, 256

controlling reactions to, 74

positive, 25–27

Emotional Intelligence (Goleman), 74

Engagement, 22

Enough, Culture of, 76, 80, 87, 262

Epictetus, 82

Erikson Institute for Advanced Study in Child Development, 41

Esquire magazine, 99

Explaining Creativity (Sawyer), 155

Extrinsic motivation, see Rewards

F

Facebook, 121, 162

Family Feud, 57

Fear(s), 1, 11–14, 242

of being simple, 185

of change, 256

of decision making, 170

of embarrassment or failure, 93

freedom from, personal economic security and, 112

overcoming, 239 (see also Just Do It)

self-judgment due to, 57

Feedback, 149–50

Feynman, Richard, 58–59

Fight-or-flight response, 73

5 Great Regrets of the Dying scribble, 254–55

Finance, jobs in, 134, 135

Flourish (Seligman), 21

Flow, 22

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Csikszentmihalyi), 22

Fortune 500 CEOs, 7

Fortune magazine, 124, 222

4 S’s of work, 113–22

Four Seasons (Manhattan), 174

Fowler, James, 252

Frankl, Viktor, 15

Freedman, Marc, 107

G

Galaxies, 88–89

Gandhi, Mohandas K., 243

Garbarino, James, 41–42

Gates, Bill, 115

GE, 185

Germany, retirement in, 105–6, 108

Gilbert, Daniel, 114, 171–73

Globe and Mail, 35, 175

Goals, 162, 246, 269

of decision making, 177–79

external, 33–38, 48

internal, 37

Golden Globe Awards, 198, 222

Golden Words comedy newspaper, 41

Goleman, Daniel, 74

Google, 122

Gratitude, 23–24

Great Work scribble, 5

Greece, ancient, 155

Grier, Roosevelt “Rosey,” 239–41

Grove, Andy, 12

Guardian, The, 93, 254, 256

Gym Clothes effect, 225–26

H

Hanks, Tom, 12

Happiness Advantage, The (Achor), 6

Harrison, George, 67

Harvard Business Review, 6, 78, 185

Harvard Salary scribbles

average American income, 131

1 Year of Work, 136

Harvard University, 56–58, 131, 171–72, 248–49

Business School, 50, 121, 131–35, 136–41, 200, 245, 251

Have Everything, 209–70

Head & Shoulders shampoo, 175

Health, 18, 107, 114

benefits of ikigai for, 101–3

brain, 193

doctors’ approach to, 13

gratitude and, 24

restoring, as corporate mission, 121

Heller, Joseph, 80–81

Hesse, Herman, 258

Hide, 56–57

Hinduism, 257

Hitchcock, Alfred, 157, 158

Hit Flow, 22

Home Alone (movie), 229

Hours vs. Pay scribble, 139

“How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Words” (Slatcher and Pennebaker), 21

How of Happiness, The (Lyubomirsky), 17, 21

Hubble Space Telescope, 88–89, 156–57

photo of, 88

photo of galaxy taken by, 89

Hudson’s Bay department store, 168

Hurt Locker, The (movie), 48

Hyde, Amanda, 20

I

“I Am the Walrus” (Lennon and McCartney), 67

IBM, 195

“If—” (Kipling), 64–65

Ikigai, 100, 102–5, 122, 124, 152, 246

“Imagine” (Lennon), 67

Indifference, creative, 264

Insecurity, 53

Instant messaging, blocking access to, 201

Institute for Global Happiness, 119, 289

Institute of Medicine, 263

Intel, 12

Intrinsic motivation, 40–43, 67

Isaac, Brad, 222

Ivy League schools, xiv, 150, 177

See also names of individual universities

I Will Teach You To Be Rich (Sethi), 225

Iyengar, Sheena, 175

J

Jacobs, Meg, 77

James, William, ix, 6, 253

Japan, 102

Jay Z, 93, 115

Jefferson, Thomas, 99

Jerome, Jerome K., 12

Jobs, Steve, 12, 93

Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 20

Judging, doing vs., 66–67

Jung, C. G., 209

Just Do It, 211–31

Just Do It Scribble, 176–77

blank, 177

filled, 177

K

Kansas State University, 22

Katsuras, Nicole, 158

Keeping Up with the Joneses, 76–78, 77

Kennedy, Robert, 239

Kentucky, University of, 25

Kindness, random acts of, 22

Kipling, Rudyard, 64–65

Klosterman, Chuck, 258

Koenig, Harold, 106–8

Kravitz, Teddy, 154

Kreider, Tim, 203

L

Lao Tzu, 1

LA Rams, 239

Lee, Benjamin, 162–64

Lehman Brothers, 78

Leisure, 107–8, 182

“Leisure” (Davies), 204–5

Lennon, John, 67, 209, 237

LifeHacker, 222

Loehr, Jim, 22

Longevity, 25–26, 101–2, 111

Lyubomirsky, Sonja, 17, 21

M

MacWilliam, J. A., 120

Man Booker Prize, 46

Mandatory retirement, 97–98

Marois, René, 200

Massachusetts General Hospital, 23

Mass production and marketing, 78

Max Factor makeup, 162

Mazur, Paul, 78

McCallion, Hazel, 123

McCartney, Paul, 67

McCullough, Michael, 23–24

McKinsey & Company, 134, 192

Medical Student’s Syndrome, 12, 14

Meditation, 23

Medtronic, 121

Meetings, 14, 119, 121, 159, 178

creative indifference to advice on, 264

cutting time in half for, 184–86

expanding to take time available, 188

politics of, 115

speaking at, 228, 230

unnecessary follow-up to, 190–91

Mexican fisherman tale, 85–86

Meyer, David, 200

Michigan, University of, 200

Milky Way galaxy, 88

Millay, Edna St. Vincent, 149

Mindfulness meditation, 23

Missions, corporate, 121–22

Mr. Holland’s Opus (movie), 98

Modes, brain, 198–99

Momand, Pop, 76–77

Monroe, Marilyn, 242

Monty Python, 198

More, Culture of, 76–80, 83–86, 262

Motivation, 40–41, 223, 224

confidence and, 220, 229

Multitasking, 195–96

Museum of Natural History, 248

N

NASA, 156–58

Nash, John, 170

National Geographic, 101

National Instruments, 196

National Space and Aeronautics Administration (NASA), 156–58

NBA, 66

NCAA Final Four, 66

Negative thoughts, 7, 74, 90

Never being too busy, see Create Space

Never Retire, 95–125

“Never Retire” (Safire), 110–12

Newton, Isaac, 155, 158

First Law of Physics, 227

New Yorker, The, 80–81

New York Times, The, 46, 110, 203, 251–52, 263

New York Times Book Review, The, 240

bestsellers listed in, 14, 36, 45, 114, 147, 168, 176, 222, 225

NFL, 239–40

Nike Corporation, 228

Nixon, Richard M., 110

Nobel Prize, 50, 110

in Literature, 64

Nun Study, 25–26

O

Obama, Barack, 115, 162

O’Brien, Conan, 54

Office, The (television series), 36

Okinawa, 101–2, 108

168 Hours diagram scribble, 116

Sleep bucket, 117

Third bucket, 118

Work bucket, 117

1000 Awesome Things website, 33–35, 42–43, 119

1 Year of Work scribble, 136

Open mode, 198–99

Overvalue You, 129–41

Oxford, Kelly, 14

P

Pacemaker, story of development of, 120–21

Paradox of Choice, The (Schwartz), 174

Parallelism, 196–97, 201

Parkinson’s Law, 182–83, 186–88

Pennebaker, James, 21

Pennsylvania State University, 20

Physics, Newton’s First Law of, 227

Pitt, Brad, 115

Plato, 155

Playboy magazine, 67

Poetry (Millay), 149

“Positive Emotions in Early Life and Longevity: Findings from the Nun Study,” 26

Positive experiences, writing about, 21

Positive psychology, 19

“Power of Five, The” (Altucher), 252

Power of Full Engagement, The (Loehr and Schwartz), 22

Prefrontal cortex, 73–75

Princeton University, 170, 248–49

Prioritizing, 174–79, 185, 187, 199, 201

Problem-scanning machine, 73–75, 80, 84

Procter & Gamble, 162, 175

Productivity, 185–87, 200, 201

Psychiatry Research, 23

Psycho (movie), 157

Pulitzer Prize, 110, 149

Purpose, 154, 246

See also Ikigai

Purpose and Power in Retirement (Koenig), 106–8

Q

Queen’s University, 41, 248

R

Raina, Sam, 186

“Rainmakers: Why Bad Weather Means Good Productivity” (Lee, Gino, and Staats), 200

Random Acts of Kindness, 21

Ranger, Stephen, 158

Raptitude: Getting Better at Being Human website, 9

Red Cross, 122

Regrets of the dying, 93, 254–56

Regulate, 174, 178

Remember the Lottery, 71–90

Response selection bottleneck, 200

Restaurant Makeover (television series), 174

Retail store assistant managers, hourly pay of, 139, 140

Retirement, xiv, 10

See also Never Retire

Rewards, external, 40–44, 67, 149–50

Rochester, University of, 43

Rock, Chris, 257

Rolling Stones, 82

Roosevelt, Teddy, 40, 99

Rosey Grier’s Needlepoint for Men (Grier), 239–41

Amazon review of, 241

cover of, 240

Rothenberg, Joseph, 156

Ruby WatchCo., 174

S

Safire, William, 110–12

Sagan, Carl, 89

Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de, 258

Sales success, 46–48, 67

Saturday Morning Test, 245–47

scribble, 247

Saturday Night Live (television program), 42

Sawyer, Keith, 155

Scenery, changing, ix

Scribbles

Amygdala, 73

Be Happy flowchart, 5

Big 7 list, 20

Can Do/Want to Do circle, 219, 224, 231

Can Do/Want to Do flowchart, 217, 219

Challenge vs. Skill chart, 23

Circumstances pie chart, 17

Confidence chart, 51

Arrogant, 52

Confident, 55

Cynical, 54

Insecure, 53

Conflicting Advice chart, 266–67

5 Greatest Regrets of the Dying, 254–55

Great Work flowchart, 5

Harvard Salary fraction

average American income, 131

1 Year of Work, 136

Hours vs. Pay chart, 139

Just Do It Scribble

blank, 177

filled, 177

168 Hours diagram, 116

Sleep bucket, 117

Third bucket, 118

Work bucket, 117

1 Year of Work fraction, 136

Saturday Morning Test, 247

Set Goal/Achieve Goal, 37

7 Ways to be Happy Right Now, 20

Space Scribble, 148, 204

Burn, 149

Space, 151

Think, 152

Success Triangle, 46

3 B’s, 155

Time vs. Effort chart, 187

Schwartz, Barry, 174

Schwartz, Tony, 22

Seinfeld, Jerry, 222–23, 226

Self, sense of, see Authenticity

Self-acceptance, steps to, 56–59

Self-confidence, see Confidence

Self success, 46–48, 67

Seligman, Martin, 19, 21

Seneca, 1

Serenity-now mood tape, 74–75

Set Goal/Achieve Goal scribble, 23

Sethi, Ramit, 225, 226

Seven-day challenge, ix

7 Ways to be Happy Right Now scribble, 20

SHAD, 45, 248

Shakespeare, William, 6, 7, 258

Shallows, The (Carr), 176

Sherrill, Martha, 99

Siddhartha (Hesse), 258

Silicon Valley, 12

Simpsons, The, 42

Slatcher, Richard, 21

Slaughterhouse-Five (Vonnegut), 80

Social connectedness, work as source of, 113–15

Social Security, 108, 112

Social success, 46–48, 67

Sone, Toshimasa, 102

Space Scribble, 147–53, 203, 204

Burn, 149

Space, 151

Think, 152

Stanford University, 21, 175

Starr, Ringo, 67

Starry Night, The (Van Gogh), 193

Stimulation, ix, 111, 134

work as source of, 119–20

Story, work as source of, 120–22

Stress, xix–xx, 80, 102, 156, 164

of external goals, 38

purposeful, 198

relieving, 23, 112, 175, 189

See also Anxiety

Stress hormones, 73

Structure, work as source of, 115–19

Stumbling on Happiness (Gilbert), 114, 171

Success, 45–48, 67

attitudes toward, 5–6, 12

Culture of More vs. Culture of Enough and, 76–80, 83–87, 262

overcoming fear to achieve, see Just Do It

Success Triangle scribble, 46, 47

Sun City, 108

Superachievers, 150

Survival, struggle for, 9–14, 74

Swindoll, Charles, 16

T

Tannehill, Josh, 83

Teachers, hourly pay of, 139, 140

Technology, 77–78, 121, 154

communications, blocking access to, 189–94, 197–201, 203, 204

information, 121–22

medical, 120–21

time-sharing, 195–96

Technology and Culture (Jacobs), 77

TED Talks, 171–73

Teresa, Mother, 242

Texas, University of, 21

Texting, blocking access to, 201

Thate, Fred, 248

3 B’s of creating space, 154–155

3 B’s scribble, 155

Thinking, balance of doing and, 147–53

Thoughts, 22, 120, 151–52, 203, 238

of advisers, 267

alignment of words and actions with, 244

creative, 157–58

impact of decision making on, 176, 179

jumping between, 163

negative, 7, 74, 90

Three Men in a Boat (Jerome), 12

Three Walks, 20

Tierney, John, 168–69

Time magazine, 12, 108

Time-sharing, 195

Time vs. Effort scribble, 187

Today show, 36, 162

Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 102

Tolle, Eckhart, 258

Tonight Show, The (television program), 54

Toronto Star, 34, 263

Trauma, childhood, 213–15

Triumph, facing disaster and, 62–65

20-Minute Replay, 21

Twitter, 14

Type A superachievers, 150

U

Ueshiba, Morihei, 49

Ulrich, Chris, 154

Unplug, 22

V

Vanderbilt University, 200

Vanity Fair magazine, 162

Varlet, Charles, 268

Video Arts (organization), 198

Voicemail, blocking access to, 200

Vonnegut, Kurt, 80–81

W

Waddington’s Auctioneers & Appraisers, 158

Walks, 20

Walmart, 115, 199

Home Office, 250–51

Walton, Sam, 16

Want Nothing, 1–92

Ware, Bronnie, 254–56

Watson, James, 110

WebMD, 14

Welch, Jack, 185

Whitman, Walt, 15

Wikipedia, 121

Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength (Tierney), 168

Wilson, Mr. (guidance counselor), 97–98

Wimbledon, Centre Court at, 62–63

sign, 62

Winfrey, Oprah, 115

World War II, 121

Worrying, 230, 246

about choices, 174

See also Fear

Worst days, retaining positive outlook on, see Remember the Lottery

Wright, Steven, 1, 230

Writing

comedy, 222–23, 226

on gratitudes, 23–24

about positive experiences, 21

X

X-Files, The (television series), 180

Y

Yale University, 248–49

Z

Zuckerberg, Mark, 115, 162