{"id":1983364,"date":"2023-07-26T16:32:01","date_gmt":"2023-07-26T20:32:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/you-are-the-architect-of-your-happiness\/"},"modified":"2023-07-26T16:36:03","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T20:36:03","slug":"you-are-the-architect-of-your-happiness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/you-are-the-architect-of-your-happiness\/","title":{"rendered":"You control your own happiness."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">10<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fyou-are-the-architect-of-your-happiness%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1983364&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>The \u2063Saad\u200c Truth about Happiness: 8 Secrets\u200b for Leading the Good Life<\/h2>\n<p>When people are asked about their key life goal, most will say\u2064 \u201cI \u200bwant to be happy.\u201d Philosophers \u2064have been discussing for millennia the\u2062 ways by which one might\u200c achieve such a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pinkerton-bidens-green-new-deal-china-first\/\" title=\"Pinkerton: Biden's Green New Deal = China First\u00a0\">grand goal<\/a>. Can we alter\u200c the \u200barc of our happiness or is this something that is inscribed \u2063in our genes? Roughly 50% of our happiness is genetically determined\u2064 but\u200c the good news is that this still leaves\u200d another 50% up for grabs. The quality of decisions that we make and the mindsets\u200c that we adopt \u200chave a profound effect on the probability of summiting Mount Happiness. This is the story of my latest book \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Saad-Truth-about-Happiness-Secrets\/dp\/1684512603\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Saad\u2062 Truth \u200dabout Happiness: 8 Secrets \u200bfor Leading the\u2063 Good Life<\/a>\u201d wherein I offer a\u200d set of prescriptions for achieving \u2063the good life.<\/p>\n<h3>I \u200bbriefly discuss\u200b each of the eight secrets in turn:<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>\n    <strong>Find the right \u2064spouse.<\/strong> When it\u2062 comes to mate choice, we have two opposing\u2062 maxims\u200c at play: Opposites \u2064Attract versus Birds of\u2063 a Feather Flock Together. For\u2064 a short-term sexual encounter, connecting with someone who is very different from you might indeed be \u2064titillating and exciting. But if\u200c you are looking for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/seiu-throws-weight-behind-mail-in-voting\/\" title=\"SEIU Throws Weight Behind Mail-In Voting\">long-term success<\/a> of your \u2063prospective \u2062union, the research is very \u2063clear: Choose someone\u2062 who shares your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-to-cancel-10000-of-student-loan-debt-for-millions-amid-inflation-concerns\/\" title=\"Biden to Cancel ,000 of Student Loan Debt for Millions, Amid Inflation Concerns\">life goals<\/a>, beliefs, \u200cand \u2064values.\n  <\/li>\n<li>\n    <strong>Choose the right profession.<\/strong> If possible, seek a profession that \u200dallows you to\u2064 instantiate your\u2063 creative\u2063 impulse. \u200dThis can hold true \u200cacross a bewildering\u200b number of jobs \u2062be \u2063it as a chef, architect, \u200dartist, author, or podcaster.\u200d All other things equal,\u200c the act of \u200dcreating offers us a much \u200dgreater chance of finding \u2062purpose and meaning in our professional lives. \u2063Temporal freedom\u2063 on the job is another\u2063 crucially important factor\u200d in your \u2062professional happiness.\u2063 When you are in control of\u2063 your daily schedule, it frees you \u200bup to pursue your creative impulse.\n  <\/li>\n<li>\n    <strong>Always be mindful of the \u201cEverything in Moderation\u201d adage<\/strong>, as captured by Aristotle\u2019s \u2063Golden Mean. Finding the sweet spot between\u200c \u201ctoo much\u201d and\u200c \u201ctoo little\u201d\u2063 applies across an extraordinary number of settings. Take \u2062perfectionism for example.\u200d If \u2062you\u2062 are not in the least bit\u200c of a perfectionist, the quality of\u2063 your work will likely suffer. On \u200dthe other hand, if\u2062 you are a\u200b pathological perfectionist as I am, \u2062you end\u2062 up\u200d checking your \u2062work obsessively well\u200b beyond that\u200c which would be optimal. The \u2063ideal level of perfectionism lies somewhere between these two extreme endpoints.\u200c The pursuit of\u200c the good life\u2063 is largely shaped by finding the\u200d sweet\u200b spot whether deciding \u2062on the\u2062 intensity of your \u2064exercise routine, the amount of wine\u200d to consume, or how \u200bmany products to evaluate prior to making a purchase.\n  <\/li>\n<li>\n    <strong>Adopt the \u201cLife as \u2064a Playground\u201d motto.<\/strong> The\u200d instinct to \u200cplay is\u200c an\u2062 indelible \u200dpart of our human nature. As a child \u2063growing up during the Lebanese\u200d Civil \u200bWar, where death loomed around every corner, I still\u2064 found it necessary to play outside. As an adult, I \u2063chose a profession (professor) that allows me to engage in the highest form of \u2063intellectual play; the pursuit of science. \u200cA playful\u200b mindset allows us to be \u2064creative, bond with \u200cothers, \u2064and retain\u200d the wondrous awe of our youth. \u2064If you are endowed \u2062with a\u2063 playful mindset, seek\u200d a \u200bspouse who shares\u2063 your love\u2062 of play. \u2063One of the reasons that I have a happy marriage is that my wife and\u2062 I are in a constant state of\u200d play. A marriage is unlikely to\u200d last if\u2062 one spouse is endowed with \u2063a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/you-are-the-architect-of-your-happiness\/\" title=\"You control your own happiness.\">perpetually sunny disposition whilst<\/a> the other \u2064is gloomy and sullen.\n  <\/li>\n<li>\n    <strong>Pursue variety\u2063 as\u2062 it can indeed be the spice of\u200c life.<\/strong> I\u2019m not a stay-in-your-lane professor, as there are too many scientific problems that interest me. Hence, while I \u2063may be a specialist in a\u2063 particular discipline, I am also a generalist\u200b who seeks to traverse many\u2063 intellectual landscapes. \u200cOf course,\u2064 be mindful that in some \u200bdomains, variety-seeking might get you into\u2063 trouble, say in the context of \u200cyour monogamous \u200dmarriage! That said, \u200bto sample\u2062 from the rich buffet of\u200c life\u2019s offerings is a pathway to \u200dexistential\u2062 happiness.<br \/>\n \u200d\n  <\/li>\n<li>\n    <strong>Be\u200c persistent when \u200dpursuing meaningful and challenging life goals.<\/strong> \u200b I recently lost 86 pounds and have managed\u200d to \u2062keep it off. It required \u200can\u200b insurmountable \u200camount \u200cof dogged discipline and persistence to be able \u2062to achieve \u2063such a gargantuan weight loss. Any meaningful \u2062objective whether starting a new business, writing a book, or completing a marathon will require\u2063 grit.\n  <\/li>\n<li>\n    <strong>The \u2064road to success\u2062 is paved with\u200b many pitfalls<\/strong>,\u2063 thus one must be anti-fragile when\u2064 dealing with failure. Michael Jordan, Lionel Messi, and J.K. Rowling all faced rejection and yet they\u2063 went\u2062 on to become all-time greats in their respective professions. Some \u200dof the best-tasting wines are those\u2062 cultivated in harsh environments.\u2064 Trees capable of\u2062 withstanding strong winds \u2064become firmly rooted.\u2064 University students\u2062 who are exposed \u200cto opposing viewpoints (ideological \u200dstressors) become better \u200dthinkers. An anti-fragile mindset is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-states-should-vaccinate-teachers-against-covid-19-by-end-of-march\/\" title=\"Biden: States Should Vaccinate Teachers Against COVID-19 by End of March\">key ingredient<\/a> \u2063to achieving success\u200d in life.<br \/>\n \u200b\n  <\/li>\n<li>\n    <strong>Live an authentic life<\/strong> as \u2064this \u2062will hopefully minimize the\u2063 chances of experiencing \u2062future regret. Regrets can stem from actions \u200b(e.g., \u201cI regret cheating\u200d on my wife\u201d) or inactions\u200c (e.g., \u201cI \u2064regret that I \u2062never became an artist\u201d). Psychologists have found that inactions loom larger in our calculus of regret. By living an\u2064 authentic life,\u2063 we are\u200b less likely to experience late-life regret in having compromised our true selves. \u2062Existential authenticity can \u2063inoculate \u2064us \u200bagainst the looming\u2062 dangers of regret-inducing \u2064what-ifs.<br \/>\n \u200c\n  <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Life passes by quickly. Every fleeting moment is \u2064infinitely precious. Don\u2019t get\u2064 mired in \u2063unnecessary gloom.\u2064 Don\u2019t worry, be\u200b happy!<\/p>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/episode\/this-way-to-happiness\"><strong>WATCH: Gad\u200b Saad: This Way To Happiness<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n<p><em><strong>Dr. Gad Saad<\/strong>, the host of the popular YouTube \u200cshow <em>The Saad Truth<\/em> and a blogger for <em>Psychology \u2062Today<\/em>, is a professor \u2064of marketing at the John Molson School of Business \u200dat Concordia University. He is the author of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Saad-Truth-about-Happiness-Secrets\/dp\/1684512603\">The Saad \u200cTruth about Happiness: 8 Secrets\u200d for \u200bLeading \u200dthe Good Life,<\/a> Regnery\u200b Publishing\u2064 (July 25, 2023). <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The views expressed in this\u200c piece are those of the \u2063author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/onelink.to\/dwapp\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO GET\u200b THE DAILY WIRE APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>people&#8217;s happiness levels are determined by genetics, while the remaining 50% can be influenced by external factors. Philosophers have debated strategies to attain happiness throughout history. Can we shape our happiness or is it predetermined?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2229,"featured_media":1983365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1983364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1983364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2229"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1983364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1983364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1983365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1983364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1983364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1983364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}