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Happiness, 1.08 (V) Week 1 Video 3 - What you can expect and what will it take!

1.08 (V) Week 1 Video 3 - What you can expect and what will it take!

[MUSIC] Aloha, and welcome back. Even though we have only spent a limited amount of time with each other. I sense such a good vibe between us. That I don't feel that I need to be so formal with you anymore. So, I'm going to shed my shirt and tie, and wear a t-shirt and come back, that way I'll be a little more comfortable. Okay? Stay tuned, don't go anywhere. There, that's much more comfortable, and happy. And talking of happiness, one thing that I'm sure you must be wondering about is what you can expect from this course. Clearly, given that this course is on happiness, I'm sure that you are keen to learn the science of happiness. The concepts, the frameworks, etc. But I'm also sure that you would like to see an actual improvement in your happiness levels. And that's indeed one of the objectives of this class. By the end of this class, if things go well, you should be a happier person. Here are the three formal objectives of this course. The first objective is to give you an opportunity to discuss one of lifes big questions, what are the determinants of a happy and fulfilling life? This is a very important objective of the class. Although happiness is a very important goal for us, and although we all have our own theories about happiness, most of us never discuss the topic in a scientific fashion. We usually delegate, or maybe I should say, relegate the topic to meandering conversations with friends or family. What's really exciting about living in the present time is that there's actually a lot of scientific research that we can bring to bare on this question, which is what we will do in this course. The second objective is to enhance your happiness levels. This again, is a very important objective. If science has in fact figured out what it takes to be happy, then you should be able to see the validity of the scientific findings for yourself. And hopefully, you will. The third objective is to give you a road map for continuing to lead a life of happiness and fulfillment. This final objective, too, is very important. Most of my students tell me that they felt happier while taking the course, but they weren't sure they'd be able to continue to practice the various things that they learned In the course in the future. I have some good ideas on how you can continue to practice many of the things that we will discuss in this class, even after the course is over. I will get back to this objective in the final week of the course. For now, getting back to the second objective, our objective of seeing an improvement in your happiness levels. You might be wondering, what does it mean to be a happier person? I'll get to the definition of happiness in a lecture that's coming up soon. But for now, consider this as the temporary definition. Happiness means being light-hearted and joyful. It means not taking yourself so seriously that it robs you the fun of living. Being lighthearted and joyful, by the way, doesn't mean that you don't think of certain things like your family or your work to be important. But it does mean that these important things in your life don't sap the joy from your life. It means enjoying life, but at the same time being responsible and engaged with everything life has to offer. Now that we have a working definition of happiness, let me get to how we can measure whether your happiness levels are improving. As we saw in the last video, self reports of happiness are quite reliable and valid. So we're going use self reports to measure happiness. I'm going to ask you for your self reported happiness levels at three points in this course. The first time that we measure it is soon, in the next video in fact. Then I'm going to measure your happiness mid-course, at the end of the third week. Finally, I'm going to measure it at the end of six weeks when the course is over. Hopefully you will see an improvement in your happiness levels, unless of course it turns out that you're already maxed out in happiness. And if you've already maxed out in happiness, then you can take the course for pure fun. And hopefully you can inject some of your happiness into some of the others taking this course. In order for you to see an improvement in your happiness levels, I'm going to need two things from you. First, I will need you to be committed and engaged with the class. This means that you're going to have to watch every video at least once, perhaps more than once if you don't understand something. Second you will need to do all the exercises. Each and every one of them, and take the quizzes and the exam. Finally, you're going to have to do the peer evaluations. If you aren't aware of what peer evaluations are, please take a look at the video titled start here, in which I've discussed what it is. The second thing I will need from you is open-mindedness. Everything that I will discuss in this class has been pilot tested, either by me, or by some other researchers. So I know that they work. Still you may find that you disagree with a particular concept or an exercise. And when this happens, I want you to be as open minded as you can. In particular, I want you to do each and every one of the exercises first. And then and only then decide whether that exercise was worth it or not. In the classes that I've got, over 70% of students who attended all the sessions, and completed all the exercises, showed some improvement in happiness levels. Among those who missed two or more sessions or exercises, only 25% showed an improvement in happiness levels. So, I'm gonna ask you to do something that I ask every one of my students enrolled in my happiness class at both Indian School of Business, and at the McCombs School of Business to do. Which is to stand up, put your hand on your chest, and repeat after me. Yes, I'm talking to you. Please stand up and repeat after me. I promise. » I promise. » That I shall. » That I shall. » Take this class. » Take this class. » With diligence. » With diligence. » And open-mindedness. » And open-mindedness. » And if I don't. » And if I don't. » May I have the misfortune. » May I have the misfortune. » Of a big, fat balloon. » Of a big, fat balloon. » Bursting over my head. I'm just kidding about a big, fat balloon bursting over your head of course. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. But the point I'm trying to make and this is a point that any happiness researcher will make, is that without a sufficient level of effort, or diligence and open mindedness, you're not going to see any beneficial effects. On my end I promise to make this course as fun, as informative, and as meaningful as possible. In fact, my objective is to make this course the most fun, the most insightful, and the most meaningful course you have ever taken. So now that I've told you what you can expect from the course, and what it will take to see an improvement in your happiness levels, let's get to measuring your current levels of happiness. See you in the next video. [MUSIC]


1.08 (V) Week 1 Video 3 - What you can expect and what will it take!

[MUSIC] Aloha, and welcome back. Even though we have only spent a limited amount of time with each other. I sense such a good vibe between us. That I don't feel that I need to be so formal with you anymore. So, I'm going to shed my shirt and tie, and wear a t-shirt and come back, that way I'll be a little more comfortable. Okay? Stay tuned, don't go anywhere. There, that's much more comfortable, and happy. And talking of happiness, one thing that I'm sure you must be wondering about is what you can expect from this course. Clearly, given that this course is on happiness, I'm sure that you are keen to learn the science of happiness. The concepts, the frameworks, etc. But I'm also sure that you would like to see an actual improvement in your happiness levels. And that's indeed one of the objectives of this class. By the end of this class, if things go well, you should be a happier person. Here are the three formal objectives of this course. The first objective is to give you an opportunity to discuss one of lifes big questions, what are the determinants of a happy and fulfilling life? This is a very important objective of the class. Although happiness is a very important goal for us, and although we all have our own theories about happiness, most of us never discuss the topic in a scientific fashion. We usually delegate, or maybe I should say, relegate the topic to meandering conversations with friends or family. What's really exciting about living in the present time is that there's actually a lot of scientific research that we can bring to bare on this question, which is what we will do in this course. The second objective is to enhance your happiness levels. This again, is a very important objective. If science has in fact figured out what it takes to be happy, then you should be able to see the validity of the scientific findings for yourself. And hopefully, you will. The third objective is to give you a road map for continuing to lead a life of happiness and fulfillment. This final objective, too, is very important. Most of my students tell me that they felt happier while taking the course, but they weren't sure they'd be able to continue to practice the various things that they learned In the course in the future. I have some good ideas on how you can continue to practice many of the things that we will discuss in this class, even after the course is over. I will get back to this objective in the final week of the course. For now, getting back to the second objective, our objective of seeing an improvement in your happiness levels. You might be wondering, what does it mean to be a happier person? I'll get to the definition of happiness in a lecture that's coming up soon. But for now, consider this as the temporary definition. Happiness means being light-hearted and joyful. It means not taking yourself so seriously that it robs you the fun of living. Being lighthearted and joyful, by the way, doesn't mean that you don't think of certain things like your family or your work to be important. But it does mean that these important things in your life don't sap the joy from your life. It means enjoying life, but at the same time being responsible and engaged with everything life has to offer. Now that we have a working definition of happiness, let me get to how we can measure whether your happiness levels are improving. As we saw in the last video, self reports of happiness are quite reliable and valid. So we're going use self reports to measure happiness. I'm going to ask you for your self reported happiness levels at three points in this course. The first time that we measure it is soon, in the next video in fact. Then I'm going to measure your happiness mid-course, at the end of the third week. Finally, I'm going to measure it at the end of six weeks when the course is over. Hopefully you will see an improvement in your happiness levels, unless of course it turns out that you're already maxed out in happiness. And if you've already maxed out in happiness, then you can take the course for pure fun. And hopefully you can inject some of your happiness into some of the others taking this course. In order for you to see an improvement in your happiness levels, I'm going to need two things from you. First, I will need you to be committed and engaged with the class. This means that you're going to have to watch every video at least once, perhaps more than once if you don't understand something. Second you will need to do all the exercises. Each and every one of them, and take the quizzes and the exam. Finally, you're going to have to do the peer evaluations. If you aren't aware of what peer evaluations are, please take a look at the video titled start here, in which I've discussed what it is. The second thing I will need from you is open-mindedness. Everything that I will discuss in this class has been pilot tested, either by me, or by some other researchers. So I know that they work. Still you may find that you disagree with a particular concept or an exercise. And when this happens, I want you to be as open minded as you can. In particular, I want you to do each and every one of the exercises first. And then and only then decide whether that exercise was worth it or not. In the classes that I've got, over 70% of students who attended all the sessions, and completed all the exercises, showed some improvement in happiness levels. Among those who missed two or more sessions or exercises, only 25% showed an improvement in happiness levels. So, I'm gonna ask you to do something that I ask every one of my students enrolled in my happiness class at both Indian School of Business, and at the McCombs School of Business to do. Which is to stand up, put your hand on your chest, and repeat after me. Yes, I'm talking to you. Please stand up and repeat after me. I promise. » I promise. » That I shall. » That I shall. » Take this class. » Take this class. » With diligence. » With diligence. » And open-mindedness. » And open-mindedness. » And if I don't. » And if I don't. » May I have the misfortune. » May I have the misfortune. » Of a big, fat balloon. » Of a big, fat balloon. » Bursting over my head. I'm just kidding about a big, fat balloon bursting over your head of course. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. But the point I'm trying to make and this is a point that any happiness researcher will make, is that without a sufficient level of effort, or diligence and open mindedness, you're not going to see any beneficial effects. On my end I promise to make this course as fun, as informative, and as meaningful as possible. In fact, my objective is to make this course the most fun, the most insightful, and the most meaningful course you have ever taken. So now that I've told you what you can expect from the course, and what it will take to see an improvement in your happiness levels, let's get to measuring your current levels of happiness. See you in the next video. [MUSIC]