The Science of Human Happiness with Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar

Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar taught the most popular course ever at Harvard and is one of the world's top happiness experts. He defines happiness not as temporary pleasure (like going to the beach or eating ice cream), but as "whole person well-being," captured in his SPIRE framework: Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Relational, and Emotional. One of the most powerful studies Dr. Ben-Shahar shares is about janitors, nurses, and doctors working in the same hospitals doing identical work…yet some saw their work as a "job" (something they had to do for a paycheck), others as a "career" (focused on climbing the organizational hierarchy), and others as a "calling" (meaningful work that matters). The janitors who saw their work as facilitating patient healing were happier and performed better than doctors who saw their work as just a job. Surprisingly, research shows there is NO connection between IQ and happiness. But there IS a strong connection between using your intelligence (being curious, asking questions, and lifelong learning) and happiness. Curious people are not just happier and more successful, they also live longer!

You can listen to The Science of Human Happiness with Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Science of Human Happiness with Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar is an episode from The Energy Blueprint Podcast by Ari Whitten.

This episode is 01:38:16 long.

This episode was published on May 2, 2026.

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