Silver lining wisdom from Lou Klieger

In response to a recent Daily Dose message about three equations for a happy life, Lou Klieger, ophthalmology, sent me the following: “Stuck at home I’ve spent some time taking free online classes including one on the science of well-being taught by Professor Laurie Santos at Yale. Lots of review of stuff I’ve learned from our programs, but one interesting thought that came to mind was this: one of the strategies which she notes can be used to thwart hedonic adaptation and reset your reference point is to interrupt your consumption, making you appreciate what has become routine and thus lost its luster and impact on happiness. It made me think that this whole current experience is one giant interruption of consumption. So it stands to reason that while it’s a very difficult time for everyone right now, just think about how much collective improvement in a sense of well-being we’ll probably see on the other side when we get to re-experience all of the things that we were failing to appreciate in the moment, such as a nice dinner out, a beer at the bar, and a group class at the gym. I know personally the next time I can go eat sushi in a restaurant I’m going to be pretty happy.”

Clockwise from top left: Ronald Tamaru, Matthew Carnahan, Scott McFarland, and Lou Klieger enjoying Serotonin Surge charity golf; Professor Laurie Santos; eating out at Chez Panisse; beer served by a bartender in a bar (imagine that!); group exercise classes; and going out for sushi.