The 3 "Macronutrients" You Need For Lifelong Happiness, From A Social Scientist

We know there's no single recipe for lifelong happiness, but certain "ingredients" do play a role in your overall joy. So what's on the menu? 

Social scientist Arthur Brooks, Ph.D., author of Build the Life You Want, is here to share the playbook—or rather, the "macronutrients" of happiness. "Happiness is best defined in terms of its macronutrients," he says on this episode of the mindbodygreen podcast. "When I meet somebody for the first time who's not very happy, I start by digging into their macronutrient profile to see where they're deficient." 

First, we have enjoyment. "The most common thing I see with young adults is that they don't have very much enjoyment. All they have is pleasure," says Brooks. Make no mistake: Enjoyment and pleasure are two very different things. 

See, pleasure comes from the limbic system in your brain. "It's tapping a part of the limbic system called the ventral striatum, which is a part of the brain that says: That feels good. Do it again." Therein lies the problem: A dopamine release may give you pleasure, but it doesn't lead to long-lasting enjoyment.

This doesn't mean you must give up all sources of pleasure (which some might call a "dopamine fast"). Brooks says you can turn pleasure into enjoyment by adding two things to the experience: people and memory.

"You want to experience the source of pleasure in your prefrontal cortex," he explains. "The way that you do that is by mixing them with social relationships and creating memories, so they become an enduring part of your happiness profile you can recall again and again." 

Think of a Thanksgiving feast: It might be filled with not-so-healthy foods that cause a constant stream of dopamine, yet it's a source of true happiness for many. Why? Well, the meal is often shared—that's the "people" aspect—and it's a mindful experience tied to tradition—which makes it a memory. 

Brooks defines satisfaction as the joy that comes after struggle. "The problem is that Mother Nature swindles us in that bargain by telling us that once we get the reward, we're going to enjoy it forever," he explains. But as you likely know, satisfaction doesn't last, as our brains are hardwired to go back to the hunt. 

Finally, we have meaning (or purpose). Finding your meaning in life might sound like a giant undertaking, but Brooks suggests asking yourself two simple questions: Why are you alive, and for what would you be willing to die? 

Don't feel like you must have one answer your entire life—it's OK if the answers evolve with time! The important thing is to make sure you have answers at all; if you don't, Brooks says, you might have to do some soul-searching.