As Oishi and Westgate wrote, “In rapidly changing environments, a psychologically rich life might be most adaptive for learning and accumulating resources, whereas happy and/or meaningful lives might be more advantageous in stable, benign environments.” We need happiness, meaning, and richness. We’ve neglected the third component of thriving. It’s that component that frees us up, that turns down our threat-and-protect response. When it comes to our sense of self, we need a bit more openness and psychological richness.
