A Harvard scientist revealed the key to finding true happiness

Happiness is the goal we all seek, although not always in the right way. Nowadays, social media is full of people who pretend to be happy. And that verb says it all: they pretend. Artificial lives, filters and deceptions.

This phenomenon is constantly repeated on the networks, on the Internet and in that virtual world in which we have believed, devoting so many hours to it. The inevitable consequence seems to be a growing dissatisfaction that leads us, more and more intensely, to ask ourselves where true happiness is.

However, a new trend is now emerging, led by Harvard professor and popularizer Arthur Brooks, who is also the author of nine books on developing happiness, which proposes a different approach to achieving this well-being.

Brooks, who was a guest on 3cat's Col.Lapse show, has examined the keys to achieving happiness, and the expert maintains that it is not a feeling , as many commonly think.

So, if it is not a feeling, what does it mean to be happy? "Happiness, as we humans understand it, is a science; a neuroscience and a social science, not a feeling. This is the most common misconception among the population," says the scientist.

And he adds: "Happiness is a mixture of enjoyment, satisfaction and the meaning of life, something much more concrete than a feeling, which is nothing more than a momentary emotion, of the here and now."

The Harvard University professor says in the program mentioned that there are four fundamental elements that constitute happiness and that mark the difference between happy people and those who are not. The scientist mentions family, faith, work and friendships.

First of all, family "is a basic pillar, something cosmic, that unites us with the people who have something to do with us. It is what we usually call our people."

Then there are beliefs, a truly transcendental aspect that allows us to "have a philosophy of life that is bigger than ourselves, so that we don't have to be navel-gazing all the time." Activities such as enjoying nature, meditating or being moved by music fall into this context.

Friendships represent the third key to a happy life. They are relationships that we must care for and nurture, since "they are the most intimate relationships in our lives. We are trees and successful people tend to present themselves by attracting attention by their large number of leaves, when what is most necessary is to take care of the roots.

Happiness

"It is essential to cultivate relationships." Finally, we cannot overlook the work environment, which involves offering a service to others and what we contribute to the world on a daily basis.

According to the expert, happiness is within everyone's reach, we just need to change our perspective and focus on the future , instead of getting stuck in the past. "People cannot be the same as they were 20 years ago," he explains. And he adds: "the real secret is not in insisting on accumulating things in our existence, but in wanting less and less, needing less."

Love is one of the main pillars in Brooks' theory, as, according to him, the love you have given and received is the only thing you will have left when you leave this world, and it is what fuels happiness. "If you don't have love, you don't have anything," he concludes.