What if you’re wrong about what it means to be happy?

In spite of unprecedented access to things that give pleasure - buy this pill, eat this food, go on this trip - mental health issues are increasing globally at an astonishing rate. It’s clear that the modern idea of happiness is lacking something.

In this episode, Edith Hall offers an ancient definition of happiness from Aristotle that might just be the solution to our crisis of despair. “It’s a way of life, it's not a psychological state,” she says. “To live well…submit yourself to your own best self, and don't let transient temptations derail you.”

Show Notes:

Resources mentioned this episode:

Aristotle’s Way by Edith Hall

Similar No Small Endeavor episodes:

Jeffrey Rosen: The Pursuit of Happiness

Meghan Sullivan: What It Takes to Live a Good Life

Gretchen Rubin: The Happiness Project

Rebecca DeYoung: The Seven Deadly Sins

Dacher Keltner: How Awe Will Transform Your Life

PDF of Lee’s Interview Notes

Transcription Link

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