The Healthy Workplace Nudge

Chapter 6Why Happiness Before Health

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

—US Declaration of Independence

The journey that produced this book began at the Mayo Clinic. I chose Mayo because of its unique approach to whole patient care, including the patient's sense of happiness or well-being.

Dr. Amit Sood, professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, and chair of the Mayo Clinic Mind Body Initiative, opened our session. Dr. Sood was born and raised in Bhopal, India, and began his career witnessing the aftermath of the Bhopal chemical spill as a first-year medical student. His view of suffering was shaped by his work with patients maimed by the tragedy and living in conditions of extreme poverty, malnutrition, and disease. That experience led to his belief that external conditions were the key contributors to suffering.

His quest to help alleviate suffering opened the door to a two-year residency in New York. His patients there were much different. Healthier and stronger, they did not suffer acute and desperate conditions. Yet, they struggled with the same level and duration of suffering and stress as did his impoverished patients in Bhopal. He saw “a deep disconnect between our material and emotional wealth.” That surprising insight changed his career.

So, right at the beginning, Dr. Sood's ...