388: A Science of Happiness Changed Her Life

Michelle McQuaid was at a high point in her successful career, living in New York, the city of her dreams, when she suddenly felt she was living a life of "grays and blahs." She started asking herself, "Why am I not enjoying myself? Is this what being a grown-up looks like?"  Then, an interview on The Daily Show with Jon Steward totally changed her direction. Harvard professor Tel Ben-Shahar was describing on the science of positive psychology on a television show, the idea that we can measure human flourishing and create interventions to improve it. He said we can actually teach people to be happier. Soon she was commuting from Australia to Pennsylvania to learn the science that was energizing her.