2014.04.16 - Playboy - Interview with Tony Hsieh

PLAYBOY: You talk about happiness frequently, but is it realistic to think we should be happy all the time? As Louis C.K. has said, “No one has a full year of love and happiness. I mean, even rich, happily married, in-love people have diarrhea three times a year.”

HSIEH: I wouldn’t characterize myself as someone constantly seeking happiness, but I do think it’s worth striving for. In my book I talk about a framework from the research perspective that happiness is about four things: perceived control, perceived progress, connectedness—meaning the number and depth of your relationships—and being part of something bigger than yourself that gives you meaning or purpose. On a daily basis I’m conscious of which of those areas are present and which need work, whether it’s for myself or how we think about making employees happy or making customers happy.

• Hmm...I'm not convinced.

Using Polya's list of heuristics to figure out how to be as happy as possible

Solve a simpler version of the problem

When trying to figure out the best life, start with simple versions of the problem:

• If you're in solitary confinement in prison for the rest of your life and have very restricted choices, what would be the best course of action for you?
• If you're on death row and you have one day left, and say you can choose between playing board games or watch movies, could we say that one of those paths is better than the other? Or is it impossible? Or is the question nonsense?

How would you make a worm as happy as possible?

How would you make a dog as happy as possible?

How would yourself as happy as possible if you only had one hour left to live and no limits on what you could do (eg you had a genie granting you a last request)?

How would yourself as happy as possible if you only had one day left to live and no limits on what you could do (eg you had a genie granting you a last request)?