27 Aug The professor behind Yale’s most popular course ever, The Science of Well-Being, tells us how to be happier right now
via Business Insider by Mara Leighton
- Psychology and the Good Life, led by Professor Laurie Santos, became Yale’s most popular on-campus course in its 317-year history in 2018.
- Santos adapted the course for Coursera and the online equivalent, The Science of Well-Being, trended wildly in the early days of the pandemic and social distancing — 2.2 million people enrolled online.
- To understand why The Science of Well-Being is resonating so strongly, and how it may help improve our daily lives now, I spoke to Professor Santos.
- Below, she shares her insights plus tips for improving mental well-being during a pandemic.
As 2.9 billion people — more than the global population during World War II — hunkered down to shelter in place in response to the novel coronavirus in late March, Yale professor Laurie Santos’ online course, The Science of Well-Being, experienced an explosion in enrollment.
The class, offered by Yale on Coursera, tackles the topic of the psychology of personal happiness and drew 2.2 million people — similar to the population of Houston, Texas — seemingly overnight.
The overwhelming success in quarantine wasn’t exactly unprecedented. When Santos offered an on-campus version in 2018, Psychology and the Good Life, it became the most popular course in the university’s 317-year history. In order to staff it, the university had to pull fellows from its School of Public Health and the Law School.
The online offering combines positive psychology with a behavioral science backbone leaving students with better habits and more accurate notions of happiness. As it turns out, real happiness requires work. While all roads may lead to Rome, not all of the brain’s default responses lead to happiness. Years ago, I took The Science of Well-Being on Coursera and reported on my experience here.
To get a professional’s take on happiness in the era of COVID-19, and to better understand why this course is resonating so deeply, I caught up with Professor Laurie Santos, socially distanced, on the phone. Here’s what she had to say on how to lead a happier life right now.
Professor Laurie Santos’ advice on how to feel happier right now…
… keep reading the full & original article HERE
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