Aug. 19, 2026

The Science of Lasting Happiness with Arthur Brooks

The Science of Lasting Happiness with Arthur Brooks
Chris Hutchins
The Science of Lasting Happiness with Arthur Brooks

#291: Behavioral social scientist Arthur Brooks joins Chris to reveal why success and happiness follow different rules as we age. They dig into fluid vs. crystallized intelligence, success addiction and dopamine, the reverse bucket list, and how to actually buy happiness.


Arthur C. Brooks is a Harvard Professor, musician, and columnist for the Atlantic, where he writes the weekly "How to Build a Life" column. He is the bestselling author of numerous books on happiness and human flourishing.


Link to Full Show Notes: https://chrishutchins.com/arthur-brooks-happiness-success-purpose/


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Resources Mentioned

Arthur: Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Some of Arthur's Books

Selected Works from the Atlantic

Books

Barcelona Recommendations

ATH Podcast


Full Show Notes

(00:00) Introduction

(02:17) How Arthur Defines Happiness

(03:50) Quizzes to Diagnose Your Happiness

(04:38) Fluid vs. Crystallized Intelligence

(05:55) The Two Types of Geniuses

(09:01) How to Jump the Curve

(13:18) Darwin and Bach's Success Curves

(16:56) Success Addiction and Dopamine

(19:00) Hustle Culture, Workism and Metacognition

(21:19) How Often You Really Need to Journal

(22:46) When Love and Money Are Idols

(24:40) The Good Four: Faith, Family, Friends and Work

(29:13) The Happiness Algorithm: Understand, Apply, Share

(30:41) Why Sharing and Teaching Happiness Matters

(31:45) Bringing Faith and Meditation Into Your Life

(34:15) Lectio Divina: Divine Reading

(35:23) The Science of Satisfaction

(37:49) Social Comparison, the Thief of Joy

(38:39) How to Make a Better Bucket List

(43:34) How to Actually Buy Happiness

(47:09) Technology, Loneliness and Happiness

(48:54) Turning Weakness Into Strength

(50:51) Why Negative Emotions Make Us More Effective

(51:20) Optimism vs. Hope

(52:23) When It's Time to Leave a Job

(54:18) Arthur's Recommendations for Barcelona

(55:26) The Airplane Story That Inspired From Strength to Strength

(57:33) Where to Find More From Arthur


Connect with Chris

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Editor’s Note: The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of our partner offers may have expired. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.

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Connect with Chris

Newsletter | MembershipX | InstagramLinkedIn

 

Editor’s Note: The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of our partner offers may have expired. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.