Reading ‘Happy’ by Derren Brown.
This week, I’ve been reading a book called ‘Happy’ by Derren Brown. But it isn’t quite what you might expect from him…
You probably know Derren Brown from his extensive career on British TV exploring psychological manipulation, magician-like stunts and mind-reading capabilities. Despite what you may have seen, Derren assures us that he does not have any real magical powers or psychic abilities nor does he use plants or stooges. His stunts are ‘real’ insofar as the laws of science are concerned, yet, his work remains mind-boggling and incredible to watch.
Personally, growing up watching his TV programs, I always found Derren’s work infinitely intriguing and often leaving me with a deeper sense of humanity. For example, I remember watching a 2010 special ‘HERO AT 30,000 FEET’ in which, over a series of days, Derren motivates a shy man who is afraid of flying to pilot and land a packed passenger air-plane in the event of an emergency. That story was incredibly motivating to watch.
Given this history of wizardry and showmanship, I was very surprised to hear that Derren Brown had written a book about what makes us happy…
Derren Brown, Mind Control 2007
Being a fan of his work I picked up the book without much thought and I was struck by how stunningly practical a guide it was to the human condition and our ultimate goal in life: to be happy. The book looks at what true happiness may be defined as. It takes us through various areas of our life that may cause us distress and suggests a way of thinking and behaving that alleviates that distress in our lives. Derren uses the lessons of ancient philosophers such as Plato, Socrates and Aristotle to teach us about ways we could behave to accomplish this.
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A particular example that stuck out to me was Kahneman’s idea of the ‘Two Selves’ - The experiencing self and the remembering self. Derren writes: “…you might choose to spend an afternoon attending to a sick relative rather than go to a theme park with friends, choosing the least ‘pleasurable’ option and leaving your experiencing self less fulfilled. But this choice might furnish your future remembering self with a better story of how you spent your afternoon and even contribute to a wider sense of happiness regarding what you do with your life.”
To further solidify this idea, Derren writes about experiments done by Kahneman and his colleagues: Participants were asked to dip their hands in cold water and record their pain level. The first time, they were asked to keep their hand in there for 60 seconds. The second time, they were asked to do it for 90 seconds after which the temperature of the water was raised a little and a further 30 seconds was required. Then they asked the participants to repeat either one of these tests. Kahneman observed that participants were much more willing to repeat the second experiment despite more time in pain being involved. Derren writes: “We don’t make decisions based on our experiences. We make them based on the stories of our experiences … Our capacity for storytelling allows us to misremember the extent of pain or pleasure we felt during an experience.”
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In my opinion, you skip this book at your own peril - No matter who you are, it is much needed, truly helpful advice. (If you enjoyed 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson, you’ll enjoy this book too!) It’s written in such a well thought out way, making each of its ‘goals’ practical and achievable. My only warning is that it’s jam-packed with useful information - It’s key lesson after key lesson, and it may be a lot to take in. But that’s also what makes the book so great. It’s an all-encompassing guide in an engaging and fun experience and grounded in science.
I found that it benefitted me to pause from time to time to let certain chapters sink in. There will be parts of this book that aren’t so applicable to you and parts you may need to hear. I felt that there was a lot for me to learn, for you it will of course be a unique experience.
I know for a fact that ‘Happy’ is a book that will stay on my shelf for a long time. I definitely recommend picking up this book.
