About this episode

Dr. Diana Hill discusses the science of happiness and practical strategies to find joy with Dr. Laurie Santos.

Are you doing “all the right things” and still feeling like happiness keeps slipping through your fingers? In this episode, Dr. Diana Hill talks with Yale psychology professor and The Happiness Lab host Dr. Laurie Santos about the biggest mind traps that block joy—and the small, research-backed shifts that help you feel better in real life. Together, Diana and Laurie unpack why mind-wandering, hedonic adaptation (getting used to the good), and comparison quietly drain wellbeing—and how practices like mindfulness/savoring, treating negative emotions as helpful signals, radical acceptance, and “time affluence” can bring you back to what matters most. Key takeaways you’ll learn in this episode: The three biggest “happiness traps” (mind-wandering, adaptation, and comparison) and how to work with them. Why chasing “good vibes only” can backfire—and how to redefine happiness as flourishing . How to use negative emotions as signals (like a dashboard light) instead of problems to eliminate. Why more money and achievement often don’t move happiness much—and what tends to help more (sleep, friends, free time, and presence). Press play, then share this episode with a high-achiever friend…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Diana Hill

Guest: Dr. Laurie Santos

Topics covered

• happiness
• mindfulness
• mental health
• joy
• self-improvement
• psychology

Keywords

• happiness traps
• mind-wandering
• hedonic adaptation
• comparison
• negative emotions
• mindfulness
• joy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Yale

Books & works: The Happiness Lab

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