We’re wrong about what makes us happy with Dan Gilbert
ReThinking
TED
4.7 • 626 Ratings
🗓️ 8 April 2025
⏱️ 46 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What do you think will make you happy next year? According to Dan Gilbert’s research, your guess is probably wrong. Dan is a Harvard psychologist, bestselling author of Stumbling on Happiness, and popular TED talker, and he and Adam discuss why it’s so difficult to make accurate predictions about our own future and how to figure out what actually makes us happy. The two also chat about Dan’s experience as a high school dropout-turned-professor, examine why small annoyances might hang around longer than major gripes, and determine the best way to end a conversation.
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Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/)
Guest: Daniel Gilbert (X: @DanTGilbert)
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ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith.
For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode is sponsored by London Business School. You know that feeling of racing between meetings, |
| 0:06.1 | trying to stay ahead of the market shifts, all while managing a never-ending stream of virtual calls? |
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| 0:35.1 | from, so you can tailor your journey to suit your individual goals. |
| 0:39.1 | Ready to take that next step up in your career? |
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| 0:45.3 | We are the future. |
| 0:47.2 | Hear us. |
| 0:48.0 | It's our tomorrow you're building today. |
| 0:50.8 | When you create technology, put us at its heart. |
| 0:54.0 | Think differently to build a better |
| 0:55.9 | working world. Be confident. Do not allow the future to shape you, shape it. And shape it for the better, |
| 1:04.9 | if not for yourselves, for us. How will your decisions today shape the future for generations to come? |
| 1:12.3 | E.Y. Shape the future with confidence. |
| 1:15.6 | Gina's a muncher. |
| 1:17.7 | Jackson Nibler. |
| 1:19.9 | Lucy likes to linger. |
| 1:23.5 | But not for too long. |
| 1:25.6 | And Harry? |
... |
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