3 Takeaways from Yale’s Science of Well-Being Course

There’s been a lot of talk about Yale’s free Science of Well-Being course. The timing is ideal as many of us are feeling the impact of COVID-19. Fortunately, I heard about the course in mid-January and enrolled immediately. And, now that I’ve completed it, I have the unique opportunity to share my insights about the program. You might be wondering… Is it worth the time? Does it really increase your happiness? And, if so, will you stay happy? Read on to find out!

Course commitment

The course — which you can access on Coursera — takes about two to three hours a week and it’s scheduled to last 10 weeks. It actually took me 13 weeks to complete it due to vacation, navigating the shifts from COVID-19* and overall busyness. (I am glad the class is flexible). But, I finished it! And, if there is anything I learned from the course, it’s that what really matters is progress — not perfection.

Top takeaways

I learned a lot from this course, but there are a few things I’ll always remember.

We aren’t doing the things that will make us happier. In the first few weeks, you’ll discover some pretty interesting facts about what we think will make us happy vs. what actually makes us happy. It turns out that we, as a society, have the notion of…