Freakonomics Radio

Ari Emanuel discussed the concept of happiness with Dan Gilbert's book, 'Stumbling on Happiness', noting that the Harvard psychologist felt 'full' in life and no longer needed to chase the things he had been chasing. However, for Ari, he felt 'full' when he was chasing and felt joy in setting up movies, buying companies, and working through business challenges.

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There is a Harvard psychologist named Dan Gilbert who studies, you know, stumbling on happiness was a book years ago.

— Episode: 544. Ari Emanuel Is Never Indifferent

Episode: 544. Ari Emanuel Is Never Indifferent

Ari Emanuel discussed the concept of happiness with Dan Gilbert's book, 'Stumbling on Happiness', noting that the Harvard psychologist felt 'full' in life and no longer needed to chase the things he had been chasing. However, for Ari, he felt 'full' when he was chasing and felt joy in setting up movies, buying companies, and working through business challenges.

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There is a Harvard psychologist named Dan Gilbert who studies, you know, stumbling on happiness was a book years ago.

Yeah.

He said he came to the conclusion that his life had been so like you said, blessed, fortunate, great experiences.

Of course, a lot of hard work and hardship, blah, blah, blah.

But that he felt full like you eat a good meal.

Episode: 216. How to Make a Smart TV Ad

It was described as a blend of psychological insight and common sense, focusing on how people are bad at predicting their own future happiness. The book was mentioned as not being a self-help guide, but some readers found it helpful regardless.

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Stumbling on Happiness was a plain spoken but potent blend of psychological insight and common sense.

You write quite explicitly in the beginning of the book that Stumbling on Happiness is not a self-help book.

This is not a guide to being happy.

And that's probably the source of any bad review is people who are horribly disappointed because they expected one thing and got the other.

But by understanding more about how my mind works, it indeed has helped me achieve greater happiness and fulfillment in my life.

Podcast

Hidden Brain

Host Shankar Vedantam highlighted the book, calling Daniel Gilbert one of his favorite researchers. He used it to illustrate how humans are poor at predicting their future happiness and that more freedom does not always increase well‑being. Vedantam noted that Gilbert’s personal experiences sparked his research into the mismatch between expected and actual emotional states. The overall tone was enthusiastic and recommended.

Highly Recommended

Episode: You 2.0: Decide Already!

It was discussed in the context of how humans are not good at predicting their future happiness, which was based on the author's personal experiences and subsequent research.

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Daniel Gilbert is a psychology professor at Harvard University. He's the author of the book Stumbling on Happiness, and he's one of my favorite researchers in the world.

Episode: You 2.0: Decide Already!

It was discussed in the context of the author's personal experiences and how they led him to study the human ability to predict future emotional states, challenging the idea that more freedom always equals more happiness.

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Daniel Gilbert is a psychology professor at Harvard University. He's the author of the book Stumbling on Happiness, and he's one of my favorite researchers in the world.

Episode: Episode 42: Decide Already!

It was discussed as the book in which the author describes his personal insights and research into how humans are poor at predicting future emotional states, particularly after making a decision.

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He's the author of the book Stumbling on Happiness and one of my favorite researchers in the world.

Podcast

10% Happier with Dan Harris

The book discussed the idea that people who have had catastrophic accidents often experience a higher level of happiness due to the non-negotiable surrender to their situation. This was compared to Kara's experience with Lyme disease and its impact on her relationship with her body.

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I haven't read in many many years but I believe one of the things he says in there is that people who've had like catastrophic accidents there's like a level of happiness that those people have becaus...

— Episode: Can You Get Fit Without Self-Loathing? |...

Episode: Can You Get Fit Without Self-Loathing? | Cara Lai

The book discussed the idea that people who have had catastrophic accidents often experience a higher level of happiness due to the non-negotiable surrender to their situation. This was compared to Kara's experience with Lyme disease and its impact on her relationship with her body.

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I haven't read in many many years but I believe one of the things he says in there is that people who've had like catastrophic accidents there's like a level of happiness that those people have because the surrender is non-negotiable.

Episode: The Science of Handling Uncertainty | Maya Shankar

It was cited as evidence that humans are poor at predicting what will make them happy or unhappy in the future, including how major life changes will impact them.

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And I think the third thing that I would share is, and this, I think if we all can better appreciate, can help us in these moments navigate uncertainty and navigate change better is to remember that we are really bad cognitive forecasters. Dan Gilbert showed this in his book, Stumbling Upon Happiness.