The foremost expert on happiness thinks your ambition is making you miserable
He's also a happiness evangelist and a professor at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, where he teaches a popular course on leadership and happiness. In addition, he's a columnist for The Atlantic, where he writes weekly about the tools for building a happier life. Yet even he struggles with his own happiness, which is why he studies it. Now he's gathered his most popular essays into a new book, The Happiness Files: Insights on Work and Life (Harvard Business Review Press), which goes on sale August 12.
I connected with Brooks on August 4 for an in-depth conversation, in which you'll learn:
Why worrying about whether you feel happy is the wrong way to assess whether you are happy
How you can stop doing the things you hate
Why ambition often works as a counterpoint to happiness
The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
advertisement
The early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, September 5, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
10 minutes ago
- Fox News
Jordon Hudson shares critical feedback toward podcasters after tense phone call revelation
Jordon Hudson, the girlfriend of North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick, appeared to fire back at criticism from sports podcasters who opened up about their interaction with her. Charlotte Wilder and Madeline Hill, the co-hosts of "The Sports Gossip Show," recently revealed they spoke to Hudson about coming onto their show and that she introduced herself as "the president of your universe." Amid the descriptions of how the call went down, Hudson shared critical feedback of the episode in which Wilder and Hill described the conversation with Hudson as tension filled. "This was such a disappointing take for me," the Instagram user sportslawheather wrote on their Instagram Stories. "'She shouldn't because the money/fame means more to someone else?? Because of her boyfriend??' Be real. "Do I have to seriously argue against (female! Sports journalists that (Hudson) has is justified in pursuing Miss Maine USA, Miss America for her own career and interests regardless of who she is dating." Wilder and Hill both initially thought Hudson wanted to speak about the Miss Maine USA pageant. Wilder revealed Hudson was, at one point, yelling at her and crying and the talk later turned contentious. She added that it "felt like we were always waiting for the other shoe to drop." The sports podcasters talked about their interaction with Hudson in one of their latest episodes. Hudson became a focal point of the college football offseason for a hot minute when she abruptly cut off a CBS interviewer's line of questioning toward Belichick about how they met. It started a firestorm of criticism toward Hudson and Belichick. But Belichick has made clear that Hudson has no role in the football program. "That's really off to the side. That's a personal relationship and she doesn't have anything to do with UNC football," Belichick told ESPN back in May. "I'm excited to be back in the coaches' meetings and getting ready for June and August when we get to training camp. June will be a big recruiting month for us and then August we start getting ready for the season."
Fox News
12 minutes ago
- Fox News
LAPD Arrests Brad Pitt Home Burglary Suspects
LAPD arrested the suspects accused of burglarizing Brad Pitt's L.A. home in June after catching them trying to hit another house. Cristiano Ronaldo is engaged to longtime love Georgina Rodriguez, who showed off her massive ring in a 'Yes I do' Instagram post. Chris Hemsworth celebrated his 42nd birthday in Ibiza with Liam Hemsworth, Matt Damon, Rita Ora, and Taika Waititi for a sun-soaked getaway. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
I Found the Exact Red Dress Selena Gomez Wore to Lil Dicky's Wedding
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." This just in: Selena Gomez is *not* married—despite those pics she dropped from Lil Dicky's wedding that had everyone (including SZA) convinced she'd tied the knot with Benny Blanco. On August 10, Sel took to Instagram to share photos of herself and Benny attending David Burd and Kristin Batalucco's once I realized she wasn't announcing her own wedding, I had to know: Where did Selena get that red dress?? Well, I did some investigating and I have the answer. She's wearing Katara Knit Dress in Ghermez from Cult Gaia that comes in just under $500—and it's miraculously still in Knit Dress $498.00 at She paired her dress with $89 Bow Pointed-Toe Stiletto-Heel Pumps from Charles & Keith, which are also still in stock (but likely going to sell out very soon!!).Bow Pointed-Toe Stiletto-Heel Pumps $89.00 at And apparently, Sel wasn't the only one who donned a red-hot dress for the big day. Benny's sister-in-law, Evi Levin, shared a pic to her Stories of herself, Selena, and Benny's mom all twinning in red gowns. are Sel and Benny going to say 'I do' themselves? The Daily Mail previously revealed that the wedding 'will be a two-day event in Montecito in September' that's 'for friends and family only'...though that list will of course include Selena's longtime bestie Taylor Swift. However! During a recent appearance on Therapuss with Jake Shane, Selena made it seem as though her wedding with Benny isn't happening any time soon. According to her, she and Benny are in the midst of their 'own personal endeavors,' but once things slow down professionally, they will begin to get into 'all the nitty-gritty' of planning the ceremony. Guess we'll have to wait and see whether wedding bells are in the near future for these in the meantime, I'll be Sel's adding red dress to my cart before it sells out. You Might Also Like Here's What NOT to Wear to a Wedding Meet the Laziest, Easiest Acne Routine You'll Ever Try
