2/21/2016

Howtobehappieraccordingtheworld'shappiestmanBusinessInsider

A69yearoldmonkwhoscientistscallthe
'world'shappiestman'saysthesecretto
beinghappytakesjust15minutesaday
ALYSONSHONTELL
JAN.27,2016,8:31AM

Whoisthehappiestmanintheworld?
IfyouGoogleit,thename"Matthieu
Ricard"popsup.
MatthieuRicard,69,isaTibetan
BuddhistmonkoriginallyfromFrance
whohasbeencalled"theworld's
happiestman."
That'sbecauseheparticipatedina12
yearbrainstudyonmeditationand
compassionledbyaneuroscientist
fromtheUniversityofWisconsin,
RichardDavidson.
DavidsonhookedupRicard'sheadto
256sensorsandfoundthatwhen
Ricardwasmeditatingoncompassion
hismindwasunusuallylight.

WikimediaCommons

MatthieuRicard,theworld'shappiestman.

SimpleCapacitydetailsthefindings:
Thescansshowedthatwhenmeditatingoncompassion,Ricardsbrainproducesalevelofgammawaves
thoselinkedtoconsciousness,attention,learningandmemoryneverreportedbeforeintheneuroscience
literature,Davidsonsaid.Thescansalsoshowedexcessiveactivityinhisbrainsleftprefrontalcortex
comparedtoitsrightcounterpart,allowinghimanabnormallylargecapacityforhappinessandareduced
propensitytowardsnegativity.
Ricard,whosayshesometimesmeditatesforentiredayswithoutgettingbored,admitshe'sagenerallyhappy
person(althoughhefeelshis"happiestman"titleisamediadrivenoverstatement).
HespokewithBusinessInsiderattheWorldEconomicForuminDavos,Switzerland.Here'shisadviceforhow
tobehappy.

Stopthinking'me,me,me'
ToRicard,theanswercomesdowntoaltruism.Thereasonisthat,thinkingaboutyourselfandhowtomake
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2/21/2016

Howtobehappieraccordingtheworld'shappiestmanBusinessInsider

thingsbetterforyourselfallthetimeisexhaustingandstressful,anditultimatelyleadstounhappiness.
"It'snotthemoralground,"Ricardsays."It'ssimplythatme,me,mealldaylongisverystuffy.Andit'squite
miserable,becauseyouinstrumentalizethewholeworldasathreat,orasapotentialsortofinterest[to
yourself]."
Ifyouwanttobehappy,Ricardsaysyoushouldstrivetobe"benevolent,"whichwillnotonlymakeyoufeel
betterbutalsomakeotherslikeyoumore.
That'snottosayyoushouldletotherpeopletakeadvantageofyou,Ricardwarns,butyoushouldgenerallystrive
tobekindwithinreason.
"Ifyourmindisfilledwithbenevolence,youknow,thepassionandsolidarity...thisisaveryhealthystateof
mindthatisconducivetoflourishing,"Ricardsays."Soyou,yourself,areinamuchbettermentalstate.Your
bodywillbehealthier,soithasbeenshown.Andalso,peoplewillperceiveitassomethingnice."
Thatallsoundsgreatintheory,buthowdoesapersonactuallybecomealtruisticandbenevolentandnotlet
selfishthoughtscreepin?

Starttrainingyourmindlikeyou'dtraintorunamarathon
Ricardbelieveseveryonehastheabilitytohavealightermindbecausethere'sapotentialforgoodnessinevery
humanbeing(unlessyou're,say,aserialkiller,andthere'ssomethingactuallychemicallyabnormalgoingon
withyourbrain).
Butlikeamarathonrunnerwhoneedstotrainbeforeheorshecanrun26.2miles,peoplewhowanttobe
happierneedtotraintheirminds.Ricard'spreferredwayoftraininghisismeditation:
Withmentaltraining,wecanalwaysbring[ourlevelofhappiness]toadifferentlevel.It'slikerunning.IfI
train,Imightrunamarathon.ImightnotbecomeanOlympicchampion,butthereisahugedifference
betweentrainingandnottraining.Sowhyshouldthatnotapplytothemind?...Thereisaviewthat
benevolence,attention,emotionalbalanceandresilienceareskillsthatcanbetrained.Soifyouputthemall
together,youcouldsaythathappinessisaskillthatcanbetrained.
OK,sohowdoesonetraintheirmindtobehappier?

Justspend15continuousminutesadaythinkinghappythoughts
Startbythinkinghappythoughtsfor10to15minutesaday,Ricardsays.Typicallywhenweexperiencefeelingsof
happinessandlove,it'sfleetingandthensomethingelsehappens,andwemoveontothenextthought.Instead,
concentrateonnotlettingyourmindgetdistracted,andkeepfocusedonthepositiveemotionsforthenext
stretchoftime.
Andifyoudothattrainingeveryday,evenjusttwoweekslateryoucanfeelpositivementalresults.Andifyou
practicethatfor50yearslikeRicardhas,youcanbecomeahappinessprotoo.That'sbackedupby
neuroscientists,bytheway.Davidsonfoundinhisstudythateven20minutesofdailymeditationcanmake
peoplemuchhappieroverall.

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