
Understand how Happiness Gaps may be created; Learn how four different realms for increasing Happiness -- Money, Relationships, Time, & Ethics -- may integrated into a single, actionable Life Ship model. The importance of JOURNALING is discussed.
Understand entropy and how it can degrade our Life and our Happiness; Learn an actionable definition of intelligence
JOURNAL: Explore your intelligence and how it can lead you to Happiness
Understand the value of investing over time; Learn an actionable definition for Wealthy; Preview 4 paths to Wealthy
JOURNAL: Choose your own definition for "Wealthy;" Using the previous research from Lecture 3, elaborate about your ideal job
Explore the considerations of collectibles and self-employment--potential income earning options that reflect your core competencies (which, when put to proper use, increase Happiness)
JOURNAL: Reflect upon how your core competencies could be dedicated to part-time or full-time self-employment
Learn investment diversification strategies; Understand time-phased "risk for reward" investing using a 10 year example
JOURNAL: Research an "S&P 500" and an "Income" fund and apply time-phased investing for a 2, 6, or 20 year goal
Understand two benefits from good relationships; Learn from marriage & divorce research; Explore a scale for thinking about various levels of intimacy
JOURNAL: Reflect upon your relationships and your intimacy strategy, ranging from casual conversation to physical and spiritual connectivity
Learn a way of viewing our mind's primitive and cultivated components; Observe how evolution can result in a current condition or urge; Understand one way that the "average," primitive male mind may view females as attractive
JOURNAL: Consider whether there is anything wrong with looking primitively attraction from the random receipt of genetics (bone structure, waist-to-hip ratio), or with trying to look attractive.
Learn various ways that the "average," primitive female and male minds may view each other as attractive
JOURNAL: Reflect upon what else is attractive about people besides these "average" primitive characteristics. Consider how the movie industry makes use of the primitive attraction qualities.
Learn various ways of viewing how love is a component of many meaningful relationships; explore the S.U.M.A. definition of love; observe the benefits of a lasting relationship (ideally from love and attraction)
JOURNAL: Create another definition for love, or support the S.U.M.A. model of love. Consider what must go wrong in a relationship in order for us to choose to not commit love to it.
Learn about self-identity through the Ship of Theseus story; Uncover the self of "the moment" and "the memory"
JOURNAL: Articulate which core personality components of you have been consistent across time. Consider how happy endings affect your memory of the struggle to obtain those endings.
Learn research about the benefits of delayed gratification; Observe a basic budget and how it can change over 7 years time; Explore the stress impacts of thinking in terms of "the moment" instead of "over a period of time"
JOURNAL: Create a money budget and a time budget. Reflect upon what it reveals about your pursuit of current and future goals to become happier.
Explore how the SciSSoRS model may help cut through analyzing relationships
JOURNAL: Reflect upon which relationships make you feel most safe and feel better with time
Learn the "average" change of Happiness across people's lives; Explore how CamP Tru + MAP environments may improve your work and home life
JOURNAL: Reflect upon how you might prepare for the challenges of Happiness changes over time. Consider if you properly reciprocate by giving as much as you receive
Explore why "Do the right thing" does not cover all ethical situations; Consider why & how to evaluate ethical frameworks
JOURNAL: Reflect upon various debates and arguments that you have observed that were started as values arguments, whether family budget choices or world war clashes over territories
Explore research on various ways that values can be influenced...sometimes unknowingly!
JOURNAL: Create 3 ethics rules, slogans, or "bumper stickers," that you have observed in other happy and successful people's actions. Create your own 3 ethics rules, slogans, or "bumper stickers," which may also include what you observed in others.
Explore why "complexity" effects can turn a seemingly harmless ethic into a damaging action; Consider how the four cardinal virtues can help create positive "complexity"
JOURNAL: Reflect upon various actions that have required Wisdom, Courage, Moderation, & Justice
Learn about 4 other dimensions--Physical, Emotional, Intellectual, and Spiritual--that can affect our journey with Money, Relationships, Time, & Values
JOURNAL: Reflect upon when the other dimensions have affected your decisions (examples: Physical with Relationships, Intellectual with Money)
Review the Life Ship model; Develop action plans for Happiness using the Life Ship model; Explore "root cause" analysis of issues using "The Wise Questions" technique; Examine the value of persistence; Depart back to the Real World
Debt, divorce, and disappointment await the average person with average thoughts. Fortunately, we can achieve happier outcomes by developing a “better than average” understanding of money, relationships, time, and values. Holistic Happiness offers a research-informed journey through the post-school world of free choice—where decisions about dating, careers, investing, and personal identity can shape a lifetime.
Drawing upon evidence from finance, philosophy, psychology, and ethics, Dr. Brian E. A. Maue—author of Life-Altering Choices Graduates Encounter—helps learners think critically about the forces that influence modern happiness. You’ll examine how attraction works, what drives long-term relationship success, how time management connects to purpose, and how your financial goals can align with your personal values.
Each section concludes with reflective journal questions, encouraging you to internalize and apply what you’ve learned. The result is more than knowledge—it’s a personal roadmap toward living intentionally and joyfully.
Whether you’re a recent graduate, a professional reevaluating priorities, or someone seeking meaningful balance, this course provides a clear, conversational, and evidence-based guide for navigating life’s biggest decisions. As one student reflected, “Reading Dr. Maue’s work is like having a conversation with a wise friend who reminds you that life is not a dress rehearsal—there are no second chances to relive your twenties with a better plan.”
Join the many learners discovering that happiness isn’t found by chance—it’s built through choice.