Introduction and Background

• Asia Brown (Google Product Inclusion & Equity team) introduces Stephanie Harrison
• Stephanie Harrison: creator of "New Happy" philosophy
• Work featured in CNBC, Fast Company, Forbes, Harvard Business Review
• Founder of The New Happy company helping individuals/companies/communities
• Newsletter, podcasts, programs reach millions monthly
• Master's degree in positive psychology from University of Pennsylvania
• Previously director of learning at Thrive Global

Journey to Writing the Book

• Personal unhappiness in early 20s triggered interest in happiness research
• Tried checking off traditional life boxes but became more unhappy
• Realized had been "told series of lies about happiness"
• Discovered positive psychology field (scientific study of well-being/happiness)
• Decided to investigate questions from empirical perspective

Old Happy vs New Happy Philosophy

Old Happy Definition

• Society's definition of happiness and surrounding culture
• Systems and institutions that enforce it
• Comes from three societal forces:
  • Capitalism
  • Individualism
  • Domination
• These forces teach what to value, how to live, how to treat others
• People become conditioned into these values and perpetuate them
• Wellness/well-being space often perpetuates old happy through individualistic focus
• Never discusses relational elements or community as essential to happiness

New Happy Definition

• Core principle: "If you want to be happy you need to be who you are and then use it to help other people"
• Must do both - can't just do one or the other
• Must be intertwined approach

Three Types of Gifts Framework

Gift Categories

• Humanity: who you are as a person
• Wisdom: what you know based on life experiences
• Talent: what you can do
• All people possess these three gift types
• Can be cultivated, drawn out, strengthened
• Should be shared with others

Practical Application

• Start by unwinding old happy's influence (recognizing brainwashing)
• Discover true self at core
• Begin sharing gifts with others
• Creates simultaneous happiness for self and others
• Easiest starting point: do something kind/loving for somebody
• Watch how it affects you (lighter, more energized, more connected)
• Repeat as often as possible

Joy vs Happiness Distinction

• Joy definition from George Vaillant (Harvard Grant Study leader)
• Joy = connection in various forms:
  • Connecting with yourself
  • Connecting with others
  • Connecting with broader world
  • Connecting with spiritual source/artwork/transcendent experiences
• Joy is recognition that you're not alone anymore
• Cultural happiness often grounded in material acquisition, performance, achievement
• Shifting toward joy recognition paradoxically increases happiness

Addressing Loneliness and Connection

• Stephanie runs solo company for 4 years but never feels lonely
• Constantly connecting with people, helping them with struggles
• Creates work that makes difference for people
• Receives messages from readers expressing gratitude
• Tells readers they mean lot to her - their support enabled her persistence
• Work wasn't done in vacuum - shaped by thousands of people sharing thoughts/feedback
• Fiction that anyone does anything alone

Practical Daily Implementation

• Take extra 2 minutes to use humanity gifts in workplace/street/subway
• Would create better world if everyone did this
• Power to create ripple effect in world around you
• Kindness is contagious (proven by studies)
• Scientists found peaceful societies have more moments of love/humanity gifts
• Ask: "If I have 60 seconds to express love/kindness/compassion/empathy, how could I do it right now?"
• Guaranteed to feel better and kickstart ripple effect

Addressing Criticism and Reception

• Some people afraid of moving into new world without old happy constraints
• Some feel threatened because means recognizing old systems don't work
• Need complete rebuilding to support worldwide well-being
• Mostly received kind feedback, including from unexpected audiences (retired CEOs)
• People from all careers/walks of life responding positively
• Goal: put words to something everyone already knows
• Strike deep knowing within people about better path forward

Self-Actualization vs Self-Transcendence

• Self-actualization: "be your best self," becoming all you can be, fulfilling potential
• Self-transcendence: going beyond yourself, devoting to greater purpose/cause/another person, spiritual/artistic/physical transcendence

Personal Gifts Sharing

Stephanie's Gifts

• Humanity: Sensitive (former perceived weakness), compassionate, comfortable sitting with struggling people, wants to alleviate suffering
• Wisdom: Academic learning/research, practice communicating ideas accessibly (not dusty textbooks)
• Talent: Communicating concepts through artwork, written page, speaking

Asia's Gifts (Human Design Reflector)

• Gift of making people feel seen
• Reflects back energy people bring
• Chameleon/adaptable nature as strength
• Can see things in people before they see in themselves
• Speaks up to help redirect when noticing wrong direction

Future Projects and Vision

• Main project: getting message out to more people
• Real promise: creating happier world for everybody
• Stop pursuing self-interested misguided happiness attempts
• Reorient toward loving, altruistic, compassionate true happiness sources
• Path forward to making world better while being happy simultaneously
• Two goals not at odds with each other
• Fix sources of unhappiness in world
• Create space where everyone has what they deserve for good/meaningful life
• Help people see they're not alone but deeply connected
• Actions have profound impact and power to change world for better
• North Star: sharing this message as best as possible