There are four distinct circuits in the brain that are essential for well-being in humans: the ability to maintain positive states, the ability to recover from negative states of mind—those are two distinct skills—the ability to focus the mind, and the ability to be generous. Studies show that the more our mind wanders, the less happy we are. And we tend to wander into states of discontent more than states of bliss or happiness. The practice of appreciative joy crosses into each of these. It’s interesting to see that there’s an entire kind of circuit in the mind devoted to giving—to the joy we feel at cooperating and collaborating as humans.