This is Walter's human, Jessica. 00:00:09.408 --> 00:00:10.610 line:0% Hello. 00:00:10.643 --> 00:00:13.079 line:0% NARRATOR: This is Jessica's fridge.

And this is a film about happiness.

The School of Life is sending some of YouTube's most popular creators

on a series of field trips to explore

some of philosophy's most intriguing ideas. 00:00:35.101 --> 00:00:37.170 line:0% This time, Jessica Kellgren-Fozard 00:00:37.203 --> 00:00:39.138 line:0% a content creator with more subscribers 00:00:39.171 --> 00:00:40.706 line:0% than the population of Iceland,

the second-happiest nation on Earth,

is finding out what most of us

are getting wrong about happiness.

[KISSES]

As long as humans have traveled the Earth,

people have been motivated by one thing above all.

-The desire to be happy. -[LAUGHTER]

But we humans seem to have an uncanny knack

of making ourselves miserable.

Why? What are most of us getting wrong about happiness?

And how could we all strive to be happier?

Oh, that is a tough question.

NARRATOR: Maybe to understand,

we need someone with a different outlook on life.

That's where Jessica comes in.

Jessica suffers from nerve disorder HNPP,

and rare auto-immune disorder MCTD.

Which means she sometimes has to use a mobility aid.

I'm mostly deaf and partially visually impaired.

NARRATOR: Jessica doesn't let it get her down.

I guess that's why you've asked me

to be your exhibit on happiness in this film.

It's important to remember

that I have the same needs and desires for happiness,

just like everyone else.

It's just that I faced a fair few obstacles along the way.

And, I guess that's given me a unique perspective

on what actually makes people happy.

NARRATOR: Couldn't have said it better myself.

So what do people think is the key to happiness?

We went on to the streets of Brighton,

where Jessica lives, to find out.

Hmm. That's a good question.

Financial stability, probably.

A hundred grand a year, I guess.

More money,

and a nicer car.

Probably like a Chanel bag or something, yeah.

Um, enough money to travel the world.

Shares in a business.

Just to be able to buy a house would be, uh,

would be nice.

A plane.

NARRATOR: But are money, cars, a bag and a plane

really what would make the good people of Brighton happy?

Or might the secret of true happiness

be a little more surprising?

A 60-second guide to happiness.

The belief that we have a right to happiness

is a very modern idea,

like Segways or selfies,

but no one can agree what makes us happy.

Many think that material wealth will do the trick,

but as societies become richer,

they tend to become more miserable.

The ancient Greeks had very different concepts of happiness

to our ideas based on what we own or how we feel.

Aristotle defined happiness as eudaimonia,

a state achieved by living a virtuous life and doing good things.

While the Stoics believed that true happiness

comes from not expecting very much.

Then, in the 20th century,

happiness became all about how we feel, not what we do,

and when chemists discovered

that the feeling of happiness can be stimulated by amphetamines,

a billion-dollar industry was born.

Now, happy pills like Adderall

and anti-depressants like Prozac

are taken by hundreds of millions of people every day.

But do they actually make us happy?

The Auschwitz survivor Viktor Frankl echoed the ancient Greeks,

saying that happiness is served by selfless acts.

The more you pursue happiness,

the less likely it is to come to you.

So, is happiness something we can all find

if we just stop looking for it so hard?

What does our happiness expert Jessica think? 00:03:36.448 --> 00:03:37.817 line:0% Because I have health problems, 00:03:37.850 --> 00:03:39.919 line:0% I've had to learn to find happiness 00:03:39.952 --> 00:03:42.622 line:0% when my body is trying to bring me down. 00:03:42.655 --> 00:03:45.591 line:0% As such, I developed a pretty unique perspective 00:03:45.624 --> 00:03:47.927 line:0% on what actually makes us happy. 00:03:47.960 --> 00:03:49.528 line:0% And thus I present... 00:03:49.561 --> 00:03:51.631 line:0% [READING]

[JESSICA READING] 00:03:56.602 --> 00:04:00.039 align:start size:94% position:6% line:0% Human connection is the most vital path to happiness.

There's moments when we open up

and share our mushy, vulnerable insides

with someone else's mushy, vulnerable insides.

[JESSICA READING]

Living with a disability and chronic illness,

I've had many, many horrible days,

when things have gone badly wrong and I've ended up in hospital

in excruciating pain and the edge of dying.

But that's not today.

And that's really important to remember.

-And to celebrate... -[HORN TOOTING]

...the amazing things about today,

both big and small.

Even if that's something as little as having your favorite drink.

[JESSICA READING]

I accept my limitations, because by setting a limit,

I also set myself free

within that framework that I've created.

[JESSICA READING]

Happiness might come all in a rush from a big development.

But it's sweeter when it builds from tiny drops within your day.

Whether that's a warm bath,

a beautiful dress, a good night's sleep. 00:05:02.868 --> 00:05:04.503 line:0% [BARKS] 00:05:04.536 --> 00:05:05.871 line:0% NARRATOR: Thanks, Tilly. 00:05:05.904 --> 00:05:08.507 line:0% [TILLY WHIMPERS]

Love doesn't have to be grand and obvious and involve a ring and marriage.

It can also be the simple kindness

from one human to another.

By showing other people love,

we show ourselves love too.

[JESSICA READING]

We can nourish our happiness with the love and care of personal growth.

Every time I develop my skills and abilities,

I feel the warmest inner glow of pride.

[JESSICA READING]

I find happiness in the smallest things.

My wife's smile, my puppies' excitement,

a walk on the beach at sunset,

what could be happier than that?

[LAUGHS] 00:05:46.078 --> 00:05:48.447 line:0% We all have pretty strange ideas about happiness,

really, don't we?

We often strive for things that just aren't possible,

and then get upset when they don't happen.

I believe that happiness should be like health.

Something that we prioritize and acknowledge takes work.

We've all been dealt different cards in life,

but only through acceptance

of our misfortunes and what we're missing

can we truly see the beautiful things that we do have in life,

and, goodness, isn't that lovely? 00:06:14.573 --> 00:06:19.078 line:0% So, that's my list of what makes me really, genuinely happy. 00:06:19.111 --> 00:06:20.146 line:0% But my challenge to you 00:06:20.179 --> 00:06:23.516 line:0% is to think about what that is in your own life. 00:06:23.549 --> 00:06:25.451 line:0% And then, to live it. 00:06:25.484 --> 00:06:27.153 line:0% If you'd like to see more in this series, 00:06:27.186 --> 00:06:29.155 line:0% subscribe to The School of Life channel. 00:06:29.188 --> 00:06:30.556 line:0% [THEME MUSIC PLAYING]