SUMMARY

Recorded live at last year’s Global Leadership Summit, Erwin Raphael McManus sat down to interview Harvard Business School Professor Arthur C. Brooks. Arthur takes us on a deep dive of science and physiology of happiness and gives us an introduction on how to leverage meta-cognition to start becoming happier people. As Erwin mentions in the interview, Arthur is a firehose of information, and you will definitely want to take notes as you listen in to this conversation.

IN THIS EPISODE

00:00 Introduction.

02:20 The connection between Harvard and “happiness.”

06:00 Which came first: Arthur experiencing happiness or studying happiness?

08:40 What drives Arthur to pursue expertise in the areas of his life?

11:00 How meta-cognition relates to our inner world.

18:00 The relationship between meta-cognition and emotional contagion.

21:00 For people moving towards happiness, what is one of the most important and easily transferable ideas, and what is one of the most difficult?

26:20 How is our view of happiness related to our view of work?

29:30 What Arthur is working on now.

33:30 Comments and Takeaways.

LISTEN

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

STANDOUTS AND TAKEAWAYS

• “Discernment” is a structured process that begins in prayer, asking God to guide your path (and really meaning it).

• About half of our natural happiness is genetic.

• There is a three-part formula for becoming a happier person: learn it, practice it and teach it.

• Excellence is its own reward.

• All responsible adults need to know how to manage their emotions so that they are not managed by their emotions.

• Emotions are nothing more than data, telling you that something is a threat or an opportunity.

• There are only four negative emotions: fear, anger, sadness and disgust.

• There are only three positive emotions: joy, interest and surprise.

• There are no bad feelings; you simply want to learn to manage your emotions so that they don’t become maladaptive.

• Your emotions aren’t a switch; they are a dial, and you should learn to control the dial.

• Meta-cognition helps people become less “limbic”: to give them a set of techniques to help move their emotions into their pre-frontal cortex and to give them time and opportunity to reflect on those emotions, decide what they mean, and make conscious decisions that make sense for their lives.

• Journaling and prayer are also forms of meta-cognition.

• Emotions are contagious: the closer you are relationally to somebody, the more likely it is that you will pick up on their emotions and start feeling similarly.

• You can’t simply be “happy;” you will experience negative emotions. However, you can become happier. You can make progress.

• Olympic gold medalists are very likely to suffer a clinical depression in the month following their victory. They were convinced that winning would make them happy.

• Happiness doesn’t come from arriving anywhere; it comes from progress.

• Work, faith, family and friends are all necessary ingredients for a happier life.

• Work was present in the garden before the fall.

• We are wired to enjoy and appreciate complex problems, but the world enjoys giving us complicated solutions to complex problems.

LINKS MENTIONED

• Website: Arthur’s Website

• Book: Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier (Amazon.com)

• Website: Team365

• Website: Global Leadership Summit 2025

• Website: Global Leadership Network