Harvard expert: Use these 10 virtues to set ‘the stage for happiness to find you’

Leading happiness expert Arthur C. Brooks has a lot of knowledge about how to improve your well-being and outlook on life.

In addition to his happiness course at Harvard University, Brooks shares many of the lessons he’s learned throughout his career as a social scientist in his weekly newsletter called, “The Art and Science of Happiness.”

In his most recent newsletter, Brooks focuses on what the Greek philosopher Aristotle can teach us about happiness. “Instead of seeing it as something to be found, Aristotle believed it was something we attract by living well,” he wrote.

1. Identify what you fear and face it.
2. Learn what your “appetites” are, and get a handle on them. This can include substances and behaviors.
3. Find balance in how you use your time and spend your money: “Be neither a cheapskate nor a spendthrift.”
4. Give back generously, especially to people you care about and causes that matter to you.
5. “Focus more on transcendent things; disregard trivialities.”
6. Control your temper.
7. Don’t lie about anything, even to yourself.
8. Avoid “struggling for your fair share.”
9. Forgive people, for yourself.
10. Come up with your own rules for morality, and stick to them even when no one is watching.

“It’s about creating an environment in which happiness naturally arrives rather than frantically chasing after it,” Brooks wrote.

“When you cultivate these virtues, you’re setting the stage for happiness to find you.”

Want to earn some extra money on the side? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Start a Side Hustle to learn tips to get started and strategies for success from top side hustle experts. Sign up today and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off $97 (+taxes and fees) through April 1, 2025.

Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It’s newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.