Dr Laurie Santos:
Psychology and the Good Life
Psychology and the Good Life taught by Dr Laurie Santos became the most successful class in the university’s history and a podcast The Happiness Lab (https://www.happinesslab.fm/)
She created it in response to her experience of mental health crisis she experienced amongst students:
“In the last five years, rates of college mental health problems have skyrocketed nationally.”
• Rates of college students feeling anxiety and overwhelmed:
• Depression rates doubling in the last decade:
“So I decided to develop a new class on the science of happiness”
Shimer, D. (2018). Yale’s Most Popular Class Ever: Happiness. New York Times. 1/26/2018.
______________________________________
Based on ideas raised in her podcast, I created and trialled a session with students in Dec, just as I started the PGcert. See task outline below:
______________________________________
Psychology and Making
1. Psychological Distancing
You are not your work. Create distance between your work and your feelings so that your productivity is not affected by natural negative emotions.
What distancing techniques could you try?
2. Suppression and avoidance do not work
Do not suppress unhelpful thoughts. Acknowledge them. Find a way to communicate and challenge them.
Write down common unhelpful or negative thoughts you have regarding your work and practice.
3. Reference Points
Choose who you compare yourself to and what you compare your life too. Use these reference points to learn not to punish.
Select 2 positive reference points. 1 from college, 1 from industry.
4. Concrete re-experiencing
It is vital to appreciate your own learning and progress.
Think about yourself 5 years ago and think about yourself now. What do you know or can do now that you couldn’t then?
5. Internal Motivation
Rely on internal not external motivators. Work because you love it not for grades or approval.
What do you enjoy about making or working?
6. Mental Contrasting
Do not engage in positive thinking. Instead, compare what you want with your reality now. Identify barriers and obstacles and then devise solutions.
Apply mental contrasting to the coming week using these different categories.
- Habits
- Activities
- Obligations
- Resources/Knowledge
6. People make us happy
Connect with other people. Shared experience and interacting with other people makes us happier. Always come in for tutorials even if you have nothing to show. Always take advantage of opportunities to share.
Pick a barrier and strategy from the last task to share.
General Q&A
Are there any mental challenges connected to productivity and making that you’ve encountered lately?
We will problem solve together.