I had heard about this class awhile ago but it was recent mention on BBC News that brought it to my attention. It was my great fortune! I gained so many insights into myself as well as others, but the increased awareness of who I am and my relationships to others was dramatic. I found a level of internal calmness develop that carried into my daily life. When I read that a wandering mind was an unhappy mind, I thought not my wandering mind. Then it sank into my being that indeed my wandering mind was unhappy. This led me to chose meditation as my project. As I submitted my final paper I felt comfortable to title it, “My wandering Mind has Unpacked her Suitcase.” Although I’ve only been doing this for 43 days, it has become a part of my day; rising at 6:30 to meditate for 10 mins to begin my day with this practice. This is still a "practice" but one I will take with me throughout my life. It has shown me a way to keep my mind focused and it bags unpacked. .

Thank you!

M. Patricia O'Connell

This Science of Well-being course was a real eye opening to negative human behavior that we think will help us throughout our daily lives, but in fact is leading us in the pursuits in life. After the last five years of both my grandparents passing, my best friend since kindergarten dieding suddenly after child birth and then my cat of 13 years (also my close best friend to be honest) and then the outbreak of the corona-virus (which has really put a cover on my pursuing my dream job and education); i was really looking for the meaning of life. I think this class gives you new focus and insights on what should really matter in your life. To be happy, you must spend more quality time with family and friends, exercise more for your benefit, eat healthier, don't sweat the small stuff, find humor in the world, meditate every once in a while and learn that buying the most expensive stuff isn't going to make you happy in the long run. Thank you, Professor Santos for a wonderful class.

This is a really effective course. If followed right you will really see results in your overall well-being. Before I took this course. I was going through a bad phase - anxiety caused by the pandemic something I never realised I had until it happened. Through this course I not only got rid of my anxiety but I have learned to be more mindful, to be more in the moment, to be more appreciative of what I have, it has helped my relations with friends, family, and coworkers, I can't be more thankful to Dr. Santos and Yale University for putting this course out here. I loved the practical aspect of it and i think that's what made all the difference. Best thing about it is that what I learned in this course is not something that just ends with finishing the course but something I will take with me in every walk of my life. I am grateful that I stumbled upon this course. I would definitely recommend this course to everyone that wants to live their life a little better.

If you answer the "What is the meaning of life" by saying "The meaning is to be happy" or if being happy is part of meaning of life in your opinion this course can show you the scientific data that tells us what actually makes us happy. You will find a great professor (Thank you, Laurie Santos, for this course!) who is very enthusiastic about the topics in the lectures, who has a lot of knowledge when it comes to ( Positive) Psychology and the topics and themes discussed in this course. There will be exercises and challenges for you. The main goal of these is to implement the knowledge and findings that you will get into your life and create habits. This is very important because (as you will learn pretty much in the beginning of the course) knowing is not half the way, implementing and practicing is far more difficult than it might seem.

I loved this course. 10/10. Would recommend and do recommend.

Take your time and complete this course. Chapeau!

One of the most important classes I’ve ever taken, if not the most important class. As a current Master’s student in psychology, I was fascinated with learning about the things that make me happy and affect my happiness. I started this class and then 5-6 weeks in, covid-19 appeared in the U.S. and changed all of our lives drastically. The first week of starting the class, I took 2 different assessments to measure how happy I was. Yesterday, I retook both assessments to see if the scores changed. My overall happiness had gone up. Amazing in that during a time of crisis and so much uncertainty, my happiness improved. I remember being in constant panic when it started. Thankful for this course because it made me realize while bad news doesnt make me as sad as I would think, the same applies for good news. I’m excited to keep learning about the Science of Well Being on my own and will definitely recommend this course to others. 5/5 without a doubt.

I really enjoyed the course. I met a great group of people for weekly chats - from all over the world (US, New Zealand, Australia, Canada). We are still going after the course.

I think the main improvement for the course would be to do the student interviews about their progress every week from week 7 to 10 - with a new set of students. I felt the course went into a lull when the lecture stopped. I get it that we need to be on our own to experience and do stuff, but more reflection on how people went would be good - give a sense that everyone finds this hard and there are ways to keep at it. I felt when that interview came in in about week 9 or 10 it really made sense again. I felt I needed that earlier.

My PERMA score went up by about 1.5 points. I've cultivated some great habits. Now it's a question of keeping "air in the tyres [as we Australians spell it]". This course is very worthwhile for anyone I think. I would really recommend it.

This course is amazing! At the beginning of the course I was the same like the other persons who believed that money, fame, accolades, a sexy body and a good romantic relationship are all the things that can make me happy. This way of thinking made me to be more competitive and more eager to raise myself up whether at work or in any situation or instances. Taking up this course made me realized that the very things I wanted to achieve/reach are the things that were causing me stress and made me unhappy. Now I understand that these things that most people sought after will not make us genuinely happy, although I must admit they can be an adjunct to our happiness. I realized that happiness can be achieved through sharing, kindness, being mindful and being appreciative and grateful of what one has. Indeed, there is no cost on being happy. W just have to alter our way of thinking and appreciate the beauty that is in front of us.

If you are like me, you could be thinking to yourself that you SHOULD be feeling happier or maybe your blessings aren't aligning with your gratefulness or perhaps you're just so tired of feeling like you should be enjoying your life more. For whatever the reason, this class has helped me TREMENDOUSLY put things into perspective and helped me to see exactly why I kept feeling like I should have more, or feel happier or be more satisfied and the tools that it has been providing thus far, have genuinely made a profound impact on the way I view every day life and all that I have taken for granted for so long. I would strongly suggest this course to anyone, even couples as a team event, and what have you got to lose? There are absolutely no harmful effects of learning how to be HAPPIER. This class is the first step to a new outlook on life and how to make yourself feel better about the one you're living.

I really liked the videos of the teacher Laurie, they were very practical and above all the intentional strategies were very clear to apply them to our life, what I loved about the course was that every week I repeated the requirements there was a lot of feedback so that we did not forget , every week I was anxiously waiting for the topics that were going to play to be happy. The only thing I did not like about the course was week 7 to 9 when we had to answer the questions and post them in the forum and when we rated peer week 9 I did not like it. I think that in those weeks from 7 to 9 that are practice, if you want us to interact with each other or see how we are doing in practice, you should support us with an advisor or zoom in to make it more interactive, so you don't lose that connection. true social and not writing in a forum where I felt I was writing to something that does not exist.

I really enjoyed this course, I signed up after seeing a facebook friend post about the course and as the course was free and I was struggling with my mental health I thought it would be a good way to give myself a boost. I had already done extensive reading on mindfulness on a I had read about mediation, journaling, gratitude etc and that they. had benefits but my brain had always been but why so I thought if this course can answer. those questions then over all I am going to be. in a good place. The Course does a fantastic job of explaining the science and how and why things work which answered every single question my brain had about the why aspect. I do have a BSc in Psychology however even if you don't not have a background in science the course is structured in such a way that provided you are open, willing to learn and engaging with the content then you will understand and benefit.

I believe this course should be a must for all, young people especially, so they can digest this early in their lives. I have truly felt the course to be not only worthwhile but also enjoyable and enlightening. It has impacted my life in a way very few individual classes over the years have. I have convinced a handful of friends and family to try it out and I have only heard positive reviews. As I type this, it crosses my mind that it would be a great “book club read”, take the course independently but come together to discuss. I also think discussing character strengths and acts of kindness as a group could add fuel to the fire, in a good way. I do know that I have a foundation that I never before had, the wherewithal to create and the belief and knowledge that these new rewirements woven into my life will enhance my abilities for my internal and external self. I am grateful and thankful.

I think this has been the best course (both online and local) I have ever taken. I had high expectations of this course after hearing about it online and all the rave about it, so I decided to give it ago. I was happy with the speed of the course and how it dealt with one happiness rewirement at a time, giving time to get used to changing lifestyle habits into positive and rewarding ones. This course gives a lot of satisfaction because of how it helps 'nudge' you to put the hard scientific evidence into practice. Of course, it depends on whether you decide to do the homework/rewirements, but if you do, you will get a lot out of it. The course gives you the nudge to incorporate these habits into your life. My happiness rating did indeed improve after completing the course and I am grateful for Laurie and her team at Yale that has delivered such an amazing course. Thank you so much!

This was a wonderful course from beginning to end. The first half of the course was especially informative and useful and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the science behind each retirement. I love all the theory and research to back up that these strategies really do make you happy. I loved the distinction between what we think makes us happy vs what really makes us happy....some surprises there and a lot of confirmation of things I already knew and believed which was nice to hear. I really enjoyed how Laurie presented the material and tracking the actual 'doing' of the rewirements was especially significant in creating habits.

This was the first course I have taken in years and I'm so happy to have done it....these are life strategies that should be taught to everyone....I'm passing this onto my teenagers!

Thank you and I look forward to my next course on well-being.

Whole new field to me! The assignment of "rewirements' left a lasting impact on me in the form of mindfulness. I especially benefitted from noticing and practicing daily acts of kindness and social connection, which made me appreciate happy moments. The concept of "hedonic adaptation" - in lay terms, the new normal - was also eye-opening. My only reservation is that the research indicates that happiness and income are well-correlated until a person reaches an income of $75,000, which is about $10,000 higher than median household income even in the United States! That difference makes me want to see the approach systematically tested on individuals with income below $75,000. Finally, I am so impressed that Professor Santos is Director of the Canine Cognition Center at Yale! Better understanding of how dogs think will make us even more appreciative of mankind's best friend.

A wonderful course from the faculty Laurie Santos. She has done enough work to simplify the course as much as possible. students will be able to get that inspiration and encouragement to take intentional steps to work on their happiness factor. Clear efforts have been put from the facultys side in gathering the results of various research findings.

She was awesome and clear in delivering her view, decent in handling the doubts section.

Overall, this course served the purpose. Its worth spending the time. i would'nt talk of the fee that's collected as course era always gives us the option to do it for free as well. They just charge a nominal amount for issuing the certificate if we need.

The greatest part is we being able to access and learn the lessons which are being taught at yale without going in person to yale. Thanks to yale, thanks to course era. Time and efforts are saved.

A heartfelt thanks goes out to Professor Santos and colleagues! You have created a "life changing" course in the "Science of Wellbeing"! I, thoroughly, enjoyed the "process" of rewirement, was challenged by the Challenge, and was able to rediscover and cultivate happiness! The Rewirement Challenge I chose was meditation and I began to realize how interconnected each of the rewirements were/are on the "journey". They not only enhance one another but they invite you to explore depths that are unique to each individual and promote a positive outlook in the life that we are, each, gifted with and must savour! Peaceful Blessings To All, Leslie

This course is absolutely great and it met almost all of my expectations! Lectures with professor Laurie Santos were interesting, motivating and enjoyable. Sometimes I felt my mood lightening only by watching them. Also I really liked interviews with guests and students. It was really nice to see and hear points of view of other people on topics discussed.

The course has scientific approach rather than spiritual one. That suited me well, though sometimes I caught myself wanting to know more about how to decipher and interpret graphs. During this course I've discovered miswanting and how to handle it, power of gratitude and WOOP technique. It was interesting to read, what other students chose to practice during rewirement challenge and how they managed to achieve their goals.

Overall I'm really grateful for this course and for the work done to make it. Thank you!

I am going to miss this course. It was my own little haven for 10 weeks now. My weekend mornings spent in Yale !

I found the course to be well structured. Pacing was really appropriate for part time learners. I was able to do the reading and extra work at my own pace during the week and I had the discipline of setting aside the time to take the online pieces together in one sitting, which I think was important for me.

The scientific researched based knowledge was very well explained. For those who are not in a formal college setting much academic research can be daunting but here is was presented in context with good visuals and excellent relevancy. Thank you Professor Santos for making it so easy to access this important learning. This is learning that is both empowering for how I parent and for how I live life myself.

I did this course in order to find real and genuine reasons for happiness, I have recommended it to several people around me, but beyond that I want to thank Yale University, the Coursera platform and all the people who just as I seek answers from life, your comments were good contributions. I feel happy and satisfied to have finished the course and to see that, through the promotion of wellness tools, little by little my perspective of happiness was changing, but the most important thing was to feel it practicing kindness, social connection, time affluence, mind control and health practices. I learned that understanding theory is necessary, but it is in the action that our real desire for change is centered. I will continue working to meditate every day, it is the commitment that I have with myself. Thank you.

I enjoyed everything about this course and I felt supported by

the whole framework of the course and the very personal, friendly and

empathetic way it was presented by Professor Santos. I think I subconsciously

responded to the way that she included herself in the exploration too from the

start - in that I didn't feel I was being told what to do (which makes me rebel)

but rather I felt invited to be part of an exciting experiment with a group of

others, so I also felt part of a team. This feeling continues now and I intend to

continue with my new well-being habits and so far, it feels really easy to do that.

I am definitely experiencing the benefits of having done this course and I think it's a course that everyone can benefit from - from teenagers through to elderly people.

Sally M. Australian, 45 years old

Wasn’t to sure about doing this course. My daughter recommended it. It was awesome, my husband tells me I’m so much happier and relaxed. It’s made me really think about everything and I know I’m capable of doing so much more and not to be afraid of trying new things. Doing meditation and getting to sleep has helped. The best part for me was watching the videos and reading the books that they recommended at the end of each week. Some of the books, like Nudge, were very interesting.

They’ve put a course together very well and someone like me, who gets distracted easily, well it kept my attention and I really wanted to learn more about the physiological affects of how certain habits affect us. Thank you and really Dr Laurie Santos was outstanding because she related to us and was so down to earth and real. 🙏🏽

Laurie has a good mix of facts, research and stories. The course is very informative. I have bought several books and learned a lot about myself that will help me be happier. It also found that things I do make me happy even though others may not rate them as high as I do. For example I do not have a significant other but I have many friends both near and around the world. I love the work I do as a professor and corporate trainer. I also have several life long hobbies. I often enjoy them and lose track of time. I love the final outcome of my hobbies.

Thanks Laurie. Great class. I would recommend it to others. I read several of Martin Seligman's books and that path led to you. I also read Shawn Achor's books and loved his YouTube video which I reference in my professional courses on Lean and selling.

This was my first online, Coursera and non native course I have taken. It was the best course I have ever took and gave me knowledge to become a better person. Being from Slovenia we have different course and exam practice. This was my first experience also with foreign »American style« of studying and I must say I was amazed and also positive surprised how warm, student friendly and practice oriented the course was. Usually the courses are much more theoretical, lacking the time to really use and »rewire« the theory in practice. I was amazed by professor Laurie Santos - she did an amazing job gathering all the studies, interviews, other literature, made all the tips and videos and more. I sincerely thank her to made this course available also to people living on “other side” of the world. Thank you!

A very interesting, science-based course with a lot of practical advice and "homework" to not only learn notions but to actually apply techniques to feel better mentally and physically. I was a bit skeptical about the personal implications at the beginning but I loved how the course offered a lot of multi-disciplinary experiments and data to back up the studied topic. It was great to actually feel the difference in terms of happiness and gratefulness at the end of it. I highly recommend it to anyone, it will surely have a positive impact on your mental health (I did it during the Covid lockdown from late March to early June 2020 and it provided plenty of food for thought). Last but not least, the Professor is a good speaker, provides lots of inputs and shares personal efforts as well. Loved it.

I just want to say thank you to Dr. Laurie Santos for developing this course. It has given me so much insight on happiness and well-being. I know that I can enjoy life despite my circumstances. I can find the joy in everyday living. I can reach out and help others and receive so much joy and happiness. I also have learned many theories and fallacies and dispelled myths that I had heard for years. I have told family and friends about this course and have encouraged them to enroll. My son told me about this course and I am so thankful that we were able to share meaningful conversations around it. Connections are so important, even more so in this time of pandemic(s). The things that we thought would make us happy, aren't the things that really make us happy. Love one another. Thank you again!