Laurie Santos | Practical Lessons from The Happiness Lab

We can bring lottery winners into the laboratory and test their happiness. We could study different Olympic medalists. What you find is that the happiness that you predict you're going to get, it's never as high as you think, but also, more importantly, you're never as happy for as long as you think.

It turns out that the simple act of scribbling down 3-5 things you're grateful for at the end of the day can significantly improve your well-being in as little as two weeks.

There is some part of happiness that's heritable. So, if you came from parents who were super happy and grandparents who are super happy, you're more likely to be a little bit happier. But it's not as heritable as most traits. It's probably less heritable than something like your height or even your weight.

We don't tend to think of the good things in our lives objectively ... Our brain just can't hold onto things objectively. Our brain has to use what's called a reference point. Who can I compare myself to and see how I'm doing—with my income, with my looks, or, in this case, with my performance in the Olympics?

A full, happy life... actually comes with some negative emotions. They can teach us things. Many of our negative emotions are really problem-solving emotions. When you get sad, it's not just something your body does to torture you; it's often telling you you're missing something in your life ... Maybe missing a person in your life or you're not happy with your job, and maybe you should do something to change it.

The worst possible thing that you could imagine could happen to you, and it's actually not going to be as bad as you think.

Grateful people are more likely to do nice stuff for other people .... It also makes you a more productive person because one of the people gratitude makes you want to give back to is your future self. So, it turns out grateful people are more likely to eat healthier; they're more likely to save more for retirement, easily; they're more likely to exercise.