A clinical psychologist and writer was interviewed by the University of Detroit Mercy on how to find happiness.

Scott Haas, who graduated from the university in 1982, writes for several publications, including a monthly jazz column for The Bay State Banner and a weekly publication that reports on the city's Black community. He is also the author of Why Be Happy? The Japanese Way of Acceptance.

When asked what it means to be happy, Haas said there are different kinds of happiness: immediate and lasting.

"The classic example that psychologists talk about is that you have two choices," Haas said in the Detroit Mercy interview. "One choice is that a friend calls you up and says, 'I’ve got a pair of tickets to this amusement park. Why don’t we go and spend the day there?' And you go and you have an incredible time. … So, you’re really happy, right? The second way of happiness is that you have an elderly aunt, and you just love her to death. … She calls you up and says, 'Would you come over and help me out a little bit around the house? I’m kind of frail, and while you’re here, we could have a little lunch together, and maybe you could read to me because my eye sight’s shot.' So, you go over there and you spend a few hours and you’re really taking care of her."

Haas said taking care of somebody is a different kind of happiness than going to an amusement part.

"One of the major components of lasting happiness, as any parent would tell you, is being able to take care of someone who needs you," Haas said in the interview.

Haas said the things that make one person happy might not make another person happy. He said there are simple things everyone can do each day to build happiness.

"I’m a big fan of taking a nap sometime during the day if you can possibly do it, and I recognize not everyone can pull this stunt," Haas said in the interview. "But if there’s some point during the day, even for five minutes, where you can just tune out, close your eyes and say, 'I’m just not doing this,' that goes a long way to letting things go."

Haas said you can slow down your activities to help with happiness.

"Take the time to do things," Haas said. "Understand that the process of doing what you’re doing is the outcome in so many ways. It’s the practice of things that matters more than the outcome. You talk to anyone who’s a musician, plays sports, is a physician, they keep talking about practice. Practicing what you enjoy doing makes a big difference."