Podcast Summary: "How to live a good life"

Podcast: Post Reports (The Washington Post)
Air Date: January 17, 2026
Host: Maggie Penman
Main Guests: Richard Seema (Brain Matters columnist, neuroscientist), Shige Oishi (psychologist, University of Chicago), Erin Westgate (psychologist, University of Florida)

Overview: What Does It Mean to Live a Good Life?

This episode tackles the age-old question: What does it mean to live a good life? Host Maggie Penman explores scientific research and philosophical musings on this universal pursuit. With interviews from experts—including neuroscientist Richard Seema and psychologists Shige Oishi and Erin Westgate—the episode breaks down the three primary paths to a “good life” according to psychological research, how to identify your own orientation, and ways to adjust your life’s direction if you desire change.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Three Paths to a Good Life

[02:12] Richard Seema outlines the main paths psychologists have identified:

• Happy Life:

  • Focus: Comfort, satisfaction, more positive than negative emotions
  • Quote: “It's something that's comfortable, something that gives you a sense of satisfaction. It's a lot more positive emotions than negative emotions. You know, more joy than sadness overall.” (02:14)

• Meaningful Life:

  • Focus: Purpose, making a difference, direction, significance
  • “You're thinking about making the world a better place. You have a sense that your life matters. It's also purposeful, like you have a directional life.” (02:29)

• Psychologically Rich Life:

  • Focus: Novelty, perspective-changing experiences, adventure
  • “Having these interesting perspective-changing experiences...what about the adventurous life?...These things that are challenging and uncomfortable.” (02:44-02:59)

Penman observes that our “life narrative”—how we interpret and recount our lives—is crucial for satisfaction:

“Not only is it about having a life that's happy or meaningful or purposeful or psychologically rich, but it's also about the stories we tell ourselves about our lives and having that sense that, like, your life makes sense to you.” (03:29)

2. The Origins of the Three-Paths Model

[05:30] Seema & Oishi discuss the academic background:

• Shige Oishi began with research on happiness, moved to meaning, then, after a conversation with graduate students, noticed something missing.
• Oishi: “If somebody is happy, somebody feel their life is meaningful, is it the full life?” Some said yes, others—like Oishi—felt something more was needed. (06:47)
• Erin Westgate’s boredom studies contributed to the psychological richness concept: people would rather experience pain than boredom—a clue that variety and novelty are vital ingredients in a good life. (08:17-09:06)

Notable Quote:

“If happiness and meaning are what the good life is about, but you can have a happy, meaningful, boring life, something's missing, right?...the opposite of a boring life is a psychologically rich life.”
— Erin Westgate (09:26-09:59)

3. Examples and Desirability of Different Lives

• The team studied obituaries and found people’s lives often reflected one of the three types.
• Example: Eugenie Clark, a pioneering female marine biologist, led a psychologically rich life full of change, challenge, and novelty. (10:10-11:05)
• Desire for a type of life is deeply personal: “It's not a good life for everybody…” Different people genuinely want different lives, and all are valid. (11:34)

Quote:

“We can want different kinds of lives and those different wants are valid...they're all forms of the good life, but they're not the same path.”
— Erin Westgate (11:34)

4. Data on People's Preferences and Regrets

• Most people, if forced to choose one type, pick happiness (approx. 60%), then meaning (25-30%), and a minority (~12-13%) select psychological richness.
• However, when asked about regrets, people often wish they’d pursued more psychological richness—adventure, risks, experiences they didn’t take.
  • “People usually regret not doing the things that would have made their lives richer. Not going to college, not moving abroad, not traveling.” (12:44-13:28)
  • Oishi: “You could have done it, but you didn't do it.” (13:28-13:31)

5. The Good Life Quiz and Practical Application

[14:51]

• Seema has adapted the “Good Life Scale” into an online quiz for The Post’s readers.
• The quiz reveals:
  • Personal scores on happiness, meaning, richness.
  • Comparison with national averages.
  • Opportunity to state your ideal life path; guidance on how to shift towards it.
• The quiz is intended as a tool for reflection and life-direction adjustment.

6. How to Shift Paths: Advice Based on Research

If you want more meaning:

• “Keep on working on it. You can’t just volunteer one time.” (16:01)
• Simple, ongoing steps: Support and nurture relationships; consistent, small efforts add up.

For more psychological richness:

• Embrace curiosity, novelty, and occasional discomfort.
• Try small daily changes (like altering your commute route).
• Document experiences to better retain their impact:
  • “Journaling is a way to keep them fresh, because what's the point of an experience if you don't hold onto it and if you don't know what you got out of it?” (17:45)
• “Happiness is sort of like your batting average ... psychological richness might be your career highlights.” (17:56)

General Advice on Change:

• Don’t feel pressure to have your whole path mapped out; focus on small, manageable steps.
• “If this is what you want, taking a step in that direction now is worth it...You don't have to jump all the way to the end in one fell swoop.” (19:08)
• Happiness comes from “the frequency of these small joys you could have, these joy snacks you could keep doing in your day to day.” (19:47)
• On psychological richness: “It does almost take the pressure off...going back to school is a great idea...it's going to be a psychologically rich experience.” (20:58)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I have a friend...who left a happy married life...to basically move to Florida and become a cave diver...She's like, 'I've always felt like there was just something wrong with me.' There's a real validation in being able to name it and say, 'No, there's not something wrong with me. I just wanted a different kind of a good life.'”
  — Erin Westgate (12:18)

• “You'll have the challenge, you'll have the difficulty. But you also, like, have an expanded worldview...It might be difficult backpacking around Thailand, but you'll have new experiences and come out a different person at the end.”
  — Richard Seema (21:15-21:46)

• “Happiness is like your batting average...psychological richness might be your career highlights. These moments that are perspective-changing.”
  — Richard Seema (17:56)

• “I feel that I had a rich life, psychologically rich life. So I want a happy life...I want to go back to Japan and go to Hot Spring and relax.”
  — Shige Oishi (22:24-22:43)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:12] – The three main paths to a good life
• [05:41] – Shige Oishi’s background and meaning research
• [07:19] – The turn toward psychological richness
• [08:27] – Boredom studies and their implications
• [10:10] – Obituaries and examples of different good lives
• [12:44] – Regrets about not leading a richer life
• [14:51] – The Good Life quiz: how it works
• [16:01] – Practical advice on finding more meaning
• [16:50] – Guidance on pursuing psychological richness
• [19:08] – Advice for people overwhelmed by life choices
• [21:15] – The value of experiences over achievements
• [22:24] – Shige Oishi on having lived a rich life, and now wishing for more happiness

Tone & Style

The conversation is warm, optimistic, and reflective—encouraging self-acceptance and gentle self-examination, with a light, sometimes playful tone. The experts and host validate the diversity of human aspirations, emphasizing there is no one-size-fits-all definition of the “good life.”

Takeaways

• There are three distinct, research-backed “good life” paths: happiness, meaning, and psychological richness. Most people want happiness, but regrets often center around missed opportunities for psychological richness.
• The “Good Life quiz” is a practical reflective tool for identifying your life’s current orientation and considering changes.
• It’s never too late to pursue the path that feels right—small steps count, and different kinds of lives are equally valid.
• Embracing curiosity, adventure, and meaningful relationships are central to designing your version of a good life.

For more: Check out The Washington Post’s “Optimist” section and take the Good Life quiz online.