80,000 Hours: Find a fulfilling career that does good

by Benjamin Todd

we’re bad at predicting what will make us most happy, and we don’t even realize how bad we are.

The fact that we often judge the pleasure of an experience by its ending can cause us to make some curious choices. – Professor Dan Gilbert, Stumbling Upon Happiness

Instead of seeking to avoid stress, seek out a supportive context and meaningful work, and then challenge yourself.

the key ingredients of wellbeing as: Positive emotion – feeling happy day-to-day. Engagement – having challenging, absorbing tasks. Relationships – having supportive friends and family. Meaning – having a purpose higher than yourself. Achievement – being good at something.

The six ingredients are all about the context of the work, not the content.

social impact. We define it as: The number of people whose lives you improve, and how much you improve them.

the most effective actions achieve far more than average.