48 pages 1 hour read

Arthur C. Brooks

Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2020

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Conclusion

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Conclusion Summary: “Now, Become the Teacher”

Brooks and Winfrey conclude the book by advising readers to teach others about the principles that they have outlined, because teaching is the most effective way to retain and deepen one’s own understanding of the material. They also believe that teaching can lead to increased happiness over time. The authors explain that as people age, their fluid intelligence, or capacity for problem-solving and learning new information, tends to decline, but their crystallized intelligence, or accumulated knowledge and skills, continues to grow. Relying on crystallized intelligence increases happiness, they say, and shifting toward teaching and mentoring as one ages is a natural fit for this transition. Ultimately, the authors conclude, the principles presented in the book are based in love, and love, they argue, “like getting happier, is something that you get better at with practice” (203).

Conclusion Analysis

As in other chapters, Brooks and Winfrey use definitions of key terms—in this case, definitions of crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence—to clarify their arguments and challenge conventional beliefs about the nature of happiness. By describing the benefits of teaching, the authors draw on the concept of crystallized intelligence to emphasize that as people age, their accumulated wisdom continues to grow even though their

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