Happiness has everything to do with 'family, life and adventure', says Harvard's Arthur Brooks

today's International happiness day and this special day wouldn't be the same without a quick uh dispatch from our chief happiness officer joining us now Arthur Brooks AEI president ameritus uh and a a Harvard Professor what is the normal uh salutation today Arthur do do I say happy happy day I mean what what what do you say to someone today it's a good question H happy happiness day I suppose but this has been designated as such by the United Nations I did the world happiness Summit yesterday i

n London and to good excuse to talk about what we all want I guess it's uh you know we we were joking around a little bit about you know how the U the US fell out of the top 20 I've got my own reasons why I mean I I don't think people realize how good we have it here uh Arthur I think a lot of a lot of us not everyone there are there are reasons to try to make this a better place obviously um but there's a lot of of spoiled and titled people that that maybe uh don't have to worry about getting u

p at 5:00 a.m. to go out and work the fields or something remember in the old days you get done at at 7:00 at night and it'd be the greatest you'd be so happy to to have a warm meal and you know now you know oh my God my app's not working or who knows why people aren't happy as far as Finland they're looking next door they're like wow I'm glad I'm in Finland right I mean that that's why they're happy because they're not in Russia explain it well you can't compare countries with each other and yo

u know they love to do that at the international level it gets great headlines and it's a good opportunity to try to convince us all to be you know Nordic style social democracies but the truth is that we're different groups of people you know my grandparents left Denmark precisely because they didn't think it was very fun or exciting and you know what Americans have in common is that happiness has everything to do with family life and Adventure it's not contentedness like you wouldn't find in o

ther places so no judgments about other cultures but we can't compare each other what we need to think about is how we can get happier as people and as a society and what Business Leaders watching us right now can do to be happier as people and bring happiness along in their companies yep too late I've already judged but I mean who in the seriously so you're going to move to Finland you told me you're not going to want to come back here but I have a question for you you lived in Barcelona and I'

ve been to the Amalfi Coast I can see maybe where I might be that were you happier in Barcelona than you were back here yeah because I fell in love and got married there but it had nothing else to do with that I mean the truth of the matter is right now I'm joining you from the balcony at my hotel in Lisbon where it's wonderful and sunny and warm people ask me all the time should I move to California because it's so nice and sunny will I be happier I have the data on that Joe you'll be happier f

or six months but the taxes are forever so Choose Wisely it's a it's is is an egalitarian society does that mean everybody's happy cuz that's what I think of with the nor social net they've the the uh yeah the the Euro social net GDP growth is has lagged in the United States by 40% for like 50 years so they actually have 50% less than they would have if they had the same growth rate not that wealth or or um you know having that makes you happy but I think these These are did the United Nations c

ome up with this survey is that who did it well no lots of organizations do that Gallup does one they're all kind groups that actually do that because it gets really good pressed for sure but the truth is again it's like you got to have your own standards everybody needs love and then they need to live in a society and and and do it actually helps them to pursue their own happiness that's what it comes down to I have nothing against the nordics it's great I just don't want to live there I'm an A

merican thanks I put me in the the you know put me in Detroit at ver you know the suburbs maybe but um Arthur the political backdrop right now isn't making anyone happy in in this country I don't think either but these are you know these are 1% these are these problems that we have seem like is this one manageable that's part of it isn't it the the acrimony and the the two candidates yeah for sure and the key thing for everybody watching us today especially people are getting ready to go to work

in the states is stop paying so much attention to politics turn off the activists and media turn off the activists inside your company who are making everybody miserable and focus on two things look business in America has the opportunity to really make World happiness Day come alive and to bring more happiness to America and the way that we do that is having a merit-based system where people earn their success and helping everybody to see how they can serve other people how their job actually

makes a difference to others those are the secrets to happiness at work everybody's every CEO listening and watching us today that's it go make people happy by lifting people on the basis of their Merit and give everybody the opportunity to serve others through their work and you are going to be celebrating World happiness day the way that you're supposed to actually do it in America we're getting away from that uh the the Dignity of work and and Merit as far as why things happen and we get furt

her and further away from a lot of these things Arthur so you but you're I told Becky you know Arthur's been doing this for five years and now we dropped out of the top 20 it's like you know you got to ramp it up or something or try and it's not your fault obviously but we're you have you have a load to lift here like the P Peterson abely P Peterson remember that they were going to they were going to tackle our debt problems we're at 34 trillion you know hire somebody else we're gonna have Maya

mcginness on tomorrow to talk about these issues she used to work with people too yeah that's great you know there's a lot that we can do but you know what each of us has to put on our own oxygen mask first and serve others love others get happier that's it I don't want to put a mask on that makes me unhappy I'm not I'm never doing that again oxygen mask when the oxygen mask okay the airplane on the airplane you know okay all right no masks got to make yourself happy so that you can help others

this this point I'm happy thank you Becky thank you Becky that's it you're welcome Happy Mr Happy Day Arthur you got it see you soon