The recipe for lasting happiness lies in 3A!

President of Üsküdar University, Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan, was a live broadcast guest on the 'Gün Başlıyor with Seda Akbay' program, broadcast on TGRT HABER. Tarhan evaluated the topic 'Why Do People Pursue Easy Money in Our Age?', stating that social media strengthens the comparison culture and the weakening of the link between effort and reward increases the pursuit of easy money. Tarhan pointed out that today's speed, pleasure, and ambition-focused understanding of life feeds this trend, and stated that he formulated the recipe for happiness as '3A', emphasizing that lasting happiness lies in meaning, purpose, and friendship bonds; in strong social relationships and spiritual values. 

Beware of the social media illusion! 

President of Üsküdar University, Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan, stated that the tendency to earn easy money is not a new phenomenon, but it has become much more visible today due to social media and economic mobility. Tarhan said; “The tendency to earn easy money is certainly not a new trend. It is a tendency that exists wherever humans are. However, we see its widespread adoption and significant visibility at this time. Its influence has also increased significantly. This is because social and economic mobility is much greater than before. People don't just compare themselves to their neighbors. On social media, they compare themselves to tens of thousands, even millions of people. In such situations, we see that the bond between effort and reward has weakened. People put in effort and receive a reward for their effort, but this bond has weakened. This situation exploits a biological weakness of the human brain. The human brain operates on energy conservation. It wants everything at once: easy, quick, fast, immediate, complete, and high-quality. It wants this to be permanent and continuous. There is a tendency to achieve higher expectations and results with less reward. Due to the human brain's tendency for energy conservation, a perception like 'it doesn't work by working' has recently begun to increase. Especially exaggerated, fake wealth stories related to easy gains, and the open statements of people you would never expect, resorting to various crypto methods to gain easy money, have weakened people's motivation to work and earn through effort and sweat. Especially among young people, we call this the 'social media illusion.' The luxurious life and wealth displayed on social media are very influential. They think, 'If I work this much with this salary, I won't achieve this; how can it happen easily?' and resort to lottery-like methods, even though the probability is very low. Even if the chance of winning is one in a million, they can sell their house and car to pursue these paths,' he said. 

“The human brain is more prone to surprise rewards”

Tarhan stated that today's culture is shaped around speed, pleasure, and ambition, and this strengthens people's desire to achieve results without effort. Tarhan said; “There is a changing culture in humanity. We call it '3H': speed, pleasure, and ambition. There is a fast pace of life, a pleasure-oriented life, and also insatiability, which is ambition. All of these have been encouraged. Doing these things has been presented as if it were a characteristic of this age. In both shopping and eating, you can obtain many things in seconds. The brain says, 'I need to achieve economic success at the same speed.' The human brain is more prone to surprise rewards rather than delayed rewards. Unexpected rewards activate the human brain more than expected rewards. The desire for 'more' never ends. People lose their sense of contentment. There is no limit to this. People don't invest according to their basic needs. The desire for appreciation drives more investment. Applause and approval drive even more. This biological weakness, known as 'nafs' (ego/self) in our culture and belief, exists in all of us. Like a wild horse, it whips, energizes, and motivates a person, but one must be able to say no to it when necessary. Right now, the competitiveness of the global system and the capitalist system greatly encourages this,' he said.

“There is a feeling of ‘nothing will happen to me’”

Tarhan pointed out that the idea of 'nothing will happen to me' is influential in people's tendency to engage in high-risk ventures; “'There is a feeling of 'nothing will happen to me.' When people engage in high-risk ventures, from smuggling prohibited substances to high-risk investments, they say, 'Nothing will happen to me.' Believing in a weak probability that one likes stems from humanity's weakness for believing in incredibly beautiful things. There is a very tempting offer, but they cannot control that weakness. Also, people cannot think long-term; they think short-term,' he said.

The recipe for happiness lies in 3A… 

Tarhan stated that lasting happiness is nourished not by money and fame, but by a meaningful life purpose, strong social relationships, and spiritual values; “I am trying to formulate the recipe for happiness as '3A'. Meaning, Purpose, Friend. A person must have a meaning in life for which they will strive and make an effort, a meaning that transcends themselves when they reach the end of their life. There must be an ego ideal, a purpose in life. It's not just about living for today; there should be a strategic goal for where one wants to be in 5, 10 years. Having a friendship bond with deep and quality relationships is also very important. Harvard has a 75-year study on happiness. They research people who are long-lived and happy in old age. Their biggest characteristic was found to be having deep social relationships. Those who are within a strong social network with their family, children, and grandchildren… It is these social bonds, not money, wealth, fame, or position, that provide happiness. Also, how a person establishes a bond with death, and their beliefs about the afterlife, are important. The desire for immortality, which Rumi called 'ashk-i beka' (love of eternity), always exists in humans. Even Tolstoy wanted to come all the way to Istanbul to provide an explanation for death. A person's belief systems and religious values provide inner peace and self-reconciliation in things they cannot control,' he said.