Notes on The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt

I recently finished reading ​The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt and enjoyed it a lot. I enjoyed his other book, and this one reminded me of some of Taleb's books that I also liked.

I enjoyed the overview of psychology research and some of the interweaving of economics, religion, and other disciplines. It was interesting to see all the lessons of the ancient texts backed up by scientific evidence. There are many good reminders of how to live correctly in this book.

Below are my main notes and takeaways.

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​Introduction
10 ancient ideas
Mind is divided into parts
Thinking makes it so
Golden rule
Reduce self righteousness
Happiness comes from within
Reduce attachments to things and people
Relatedness
Cultivate virtue
Spirituality and meaning

1 divided self
Riding horse
Ego
Rider on elephant
Brain as committee
Mind vs body
Brains of body parts
Left vs right brain
New vs old
Controlled vs automatic
Rider on elephant
Advisor or servant mind

2 changing your mind
Effects in world only affect us in our interpretation of them
Like meter constantly running
Everyone who seeks therapy needs either tightening or loosening
Stronger and faster reaction to bad things than good
Constant shifts in balance between two systems pushing in opposite directions
Meditation tames and calms the elephant 
Cognitive behavior therapy 
Prozac

3 reciprocity with a vengeance
Golden rule
Tit for tat
Role of gossip
Concession leads to concession
Extreme offer then concession

4 faults of others
Rose colored mirror
Illusions about your strengths as above average
I’m right, you’re biased

5 pursuit of happiness 
Progress principle
Pleasure from making progress but not achieving
Aspiration principle
Hedonic treadmill
Remove attachment
Work on internal world
Happiness formula
H = s + c + v
Set point
Conditions
Voluntary activities
Finding flow
Paradox of choice

6 love and attachments
Mother figure, attachment to soft object
Passionate love and companionate love

7 uses of adversity
Growth post trauma
Sense makers

8 felicity of virtue
Maxims
Role models
Aphorisms

9 divinity with or without gd
Flatland
Hierarchy, closeness, divinity axes
Role of disgust
Elevation and agape
Awe and transcendence
Peak experiences

10 happiness comes from between
Love and work
Effectiveness in controlling environment
Enjoying making progress
Synchronized movement and chanting bonds group

11 concision
On balance