So, first a quick survey: What do you do when your BFF (Best Friend Forever) misses out on a high paying job, gets rejected by an elite school, loses a race, has an outbreak of pimples, etc. What do you think? How do you feel? What do you do? Do you commiserate with the person? Or, do you have a secret joy of the person’s misfortunes? The Germans have a great word for that: Freudenschade, one of those SAT words. Freudenschade translates into ‘harm joy’. I think of it as sadistic jealousy and envy from the misfortune of people and even your friends. We’re living in Freudenschade age.
So, what do you think Yale University’s most popular class ever was? History? Philosophy? Psych 157 or its formal name is ‘Psychology and the Good Life’. Expressed another way, the most popular Yale class was Happiness 101. Why? Almost 1/4 of all Yale undergraduates enrolled in the class in its first year. Instructors talked and discussed things, topics, and stories on what VUCANs think will make them happy or don’t. The critical word is ‘think’. How to find happiness in a stressful and unhappy world? Ultimately, the goal and purpose of the class was to teach students how to find, design, and lead a happier life. The Yale instructor noticed:
“Students want to change, to be happier themselves, and to change the culture here on campus … With one in four students at Yale taking it, if we see good habits, things like students showing more gratitude, procrastinating less, increasing social connections we’re actually seeing change in the school’s culture.”[i]
Desire for happiness is a sign of times. Even the privileged want to live a better life, find work passion, understand themselves, or be better VUCANs.
Work Lesson Earned: Interest in the Yale Psych class and how to find and live the good life went global and viral. Why? Freudenschade. Anxiety. Unhappiness. Envy. Then, COVID hit campus. Most all college classes are canceled in 2020. In general, a college happiness deficit around life and work skyrocketed. Now, grumps, trolls, snarks, and naysayers seem to inhabit the world around us. Recognize these VUCANs. Avoid them. And most importantly, get real with yourself. Check out your resting face. If you’re one of these VUCANs, develop new personal messaging, and practice mindfulness.
[i] ‘Yale’s Most Popular Class Ever: Happiness’, New York Times, January 26, 2018.