Happiness
Actionable insights for a happier life: a curated exploration of what it means to live well. Decoding the mechanics of fulfillment through the lens of neuroscience and behavioral psychology.
Essentials
Gratitude helps break the cycle of always wanting more
Gratitude explains why new gains fade and complaints rise.
videoLove your enemies: a buddhist guide to defeating anger, ego, and self-loathing
In their collaborative work Love Your Enemies: How to Break the Anger Habit & Be a Whole Lot Happier, Robert…
We create a false self in early life to meet external expectations and cope with childhood experiences – James Hollis
James Hollis explores the psychological and spiritual upheaval of midlife as a necessary and meaningful rite of passage. Drawing from…
Having an emergency fund makes people measurably happier
Easily accessible savings, known as precautionary savings, have a profound positive effect on individual well-being. This type of savings provides…
Happiness keeps rising with income for about 80% of people
A 2023 PNAS reanalysis by Killingsworth, Kahneman, and Mellers of 1.7 million phone reports found happiness rising with income for most American workers; only the least happy 15 to 20% stopped gaining above $100,000 a year.
The ideal free time would be 2 to 5 hours/day
As an individual’s free time increases, so does that person’s sense of well-being – but only up to a point.…
Daily Habits
Flow state explains how deep focus boosts happiness and performance
Flow state is a deep immersion that boosts performance and mood. Learn how to achieve flow state using psychology and neuroscience to get in the zone.
The key to starting a dreaded task is to act without waiting for motivation
Harvard Business Review: How to actually start the task you’ve been avoiding To begin a task you have been avoiding,…
Accept, grow, serve: a psychologist’s three-step guide to optimal living
The piece is an opinion essay grounded in the author’s clinical experience and spiritual reflection; it cites no peer-reviewed studies.…
Personal growth leads to spiritual awakening by expanding awareness beyond the ego
Developmental awakening maps the journey from ego to awareness. Learn how personal growth expands your perspective and leads to a spiritual waking up.
Psychologists explain 3 proven ways to kick bad habits for good
Psychologists reveal 3 ways to kick bad habits for good: reinvent rewards, change your environment, and add friction to stop the urge before it starts.
Arthur Brooks advises acting happy to feel happy and managing wants to find satisfaction
Feelings often follow actions. When you smile, stand up straight, or speak energetically, your brain interprets these physical cues as signs that you are doing well.
Deeper Meaning
Spending on experiences, time, and other people raises happiness
Studies by Dunn, Norton, Gilovich, and colleagues link five ways of spending to more happiness: experiences, gifts and donations, time-saving services, paying ahead, and purchases that fit your personality.
Sam Harris & Waking up meditation guide
Sam Harris, an American neuroscientist and philosopher, created the Waking Up mobile app to offer a secular path to meditation…
Kafka’s doll letters were never found, and the love quote is fake
The story of Kafka writing letters from a lost doll comes from Dora Diamant, his last partner. The letters have never been found, and the famous line about love returning in another way was added much later.