This is my third blog based on the recent book from Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey, “Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier.” In this post, I’ll cover the concept of the Four Idols that Brooks draws from St. Thomas Aquinas, who spoke of the four false idols: money, power, pleasure, and fame, in his Summa Theologica, which was written during his life in the 13th century but published in the late 15th century. In the mind of Aquinas, a Catholic theologian, the pursuit of these idols was distancing people from God.

The Four Idols framework says everyone is driven by the pursuit of one (or more) of the following idols: money, power, pleasure, and fame. According to Brooks, we make most of our daily decisions based on the worship of our idol. The downside: As we strive to get “closer” to our idol, we find ourselves on an endless chase for more. We incorrectly assume that this chase will lead us to the promised land of happiness. Brooks and Winfrey say we don’t need to reject our idol; the goal is to develop a conscious awareness of our own idol — to become aware of what’s motivating and driving us, and to understand the separation between this chase and our lifelong pursuit of fulfillment and happiness.

The Four Idols exercise is simple: Use the process of elimination to identify your primary idol. Remember, there’s nothing wrong with any of these idols; they’re perfectly natural. The key is to become aware of your idol, to understand the role and influence it has in your decision-making and life, and to realize that chasing this idol won’t lead to happiness on its own. By using what you learned about metacognition in my last blog, you will become aware of your idol and possibly modify your behavior just by being more aware of it.

To make this understandable, when I listened to Tim Ferriss interview Brooks, I realized that my idol is a version of fame. I seek to be a recognized, respected business advisor to owner-operated businesses. I’m not hoping to see my name in The Wall Street Journal or Crain’s Detroit Business, but I’d like to be well-known by the business owners in my network.

What is your idol, and how much striving to attain it is actually starving you of true happiness? You’ll find out more about the authors’ categories for happiness in my next blog.