When some people think about becoming happier, they daydream about earning more money, owning a bigger house or driving fancier cars.
Happiness is simpler than that, expert Mo Gawdat said on a June 24 episode of Simon Sinek’s “A Bit of Optimism” podcast. Crossing off goals on a wish list won’t make you feel better long-term. Instead, happiness comes from paying attention to what makes you feel stressed, drained or held back, and eliminating those elements, Gawdat said.
“If you understand [that] your default setting is ‘happy,’ then there is nothing you need to bring from outside you to find happiness,” said Gawdat, 58. “You need to remove s--- to be happy.”
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Gawdat learned the lesson first-hand, he said. A former chief business officer at Google, he became “filthy rich at age 29,” and had all the trappings of a successful life: a high-paying job, a house with a pool, a family and fancy cars, he said. Still, he often felt depressed, he added.
