New Free Online Course: Get Happy!

Learn The Science of Happiness from UC Berkeley with Thousands of Others! No Travel Needed.

The Timeless Question: How to be Happy

We all want to be happy, and there are countless ideas about what happiness is and how we can get more of it. But not many of those ideas are based on science (simply meaning proven-by-research here). That’s where this new online course comes in.

The Modern Answer: Positive Psychology

“The Science of Happiness” teaches the new psychological science of “Positive Psychology” which studies, not illness (as in depression and other mental woes), but wellness (as in people who are happy despite immensely challenging personal circumstances).

What It Can Mean For You

Students will discover how cutting-edge research can be applied to their own lives right now. That sounds good to me!

The course will focus on a fundamental finding from positive psychology: that *happiness is inextricably linked to having strong social connections and contributing to something bigger than yourself*. Students will learn how these findings are supported by psychology, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology.

Perhaps, most appealing, “The Science of Happiness” will offer students practical strategies for nurturing their own happiness.

Research suggests that up to 40% of happiness depends on our habits and activities. So each week, students will learn a new research-tested practice that fosters social and emotional well-being.

The Course’s Credential’s Can’t Be Beat

The course was created by UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, which is a cousin to my undergraduate alma mater, UC Irvine and a neighbor to my law school alma mater, Stanford, so that’s a strong reason to take the course right there! 🙂

The course’s co-instructors, Dacher Keltner and Emiliana Simon-Thomas, are leading authorities on positive psychology and gifted teachers. They’ll be joined by other experts including Rick Hanson, Barbara Fredrickson, Paul Ekman, Sonja Lyubomirsky and Jon Kabat-Zinn to discuss special topics like empathy, mindfulness and gratitude.

Health professionals can earn CE credits. And anyone can earn a certificate. Or you can choose to just hang out and audit the course. As far as I can tell – and both Bennett and I signed up for the course – there is no fee to take it!

Commit to Your Mental Well-Being For Your Own Sake and The Sake of Everyone Around You

It takes about 2 hours a week of your time for 10 weeks and promises to teach you how to improve about 40% of your mind’s well-being (10% being controlled by circumstance, and 50% being controlled by genetics).

The course begins September 9, 2014.

Learn more and register at: The Science of Happiness

Screennames, “BennettBraverman” and “Diedre,” hope to see you in the Forums!