The Hidden Link Between Workaholism and Mental Health
Long hours on the job can temporarily ease the symptoms of depression and anxiety. But you’re better off leaving the office and facing your feelings head-on.
Nothing Drains You Like Mixed Emotions
Feeling conflicted can be even more distressing than feeling bad. Here’s how to manage it.
How We Learned to Be Lonely
In the early days of the pandemic, many of us got used to solitude. It’s a habit we need to break.
How to Make the Most of Bad Gifts
Presents are generally terrible, but they can still bring you joy.
Breakups Always Hurt, but You Can Shorten the Suffering
Three steps to get over your ex
Does Overindulgence Make You Happy?
Why we binge as a way of celebrating.
Meetings Are Miserable
One of the most straightforward paths to happiness at work is to fight against the scourge of time-consuming, unproductive meetings at every opportunity.
A New Formula for Happiness
The happiness we seek can require investing earlier than we think—and may help us align our expectations and reality at the end of life.
Marriage Is a Team Sport
Approach disagreements with your partner not as a “me,” but as a “we.”
The Right Choices in Parenting
When parents avoid the complexities of independent decision making, they may fail to understand where analysis remains crucial.
How to Love People Who Love Conspiracies
Fighting over the facts is unlikely to convince anyone.
Subtraction as a Solution
Subtraction can be an overlooked solution in a culture of accumulation. But having less can create the space we didn’t know we needed.
How to Make Life More Transcendent
Even if you’re not religious
How to Spend Time on What You Value
We use our time to race against the clock of productivity—which may be the one thing that holds us back from enjoying the free time we crave.
Envy, the Happiness Killer
Eradicating this ugly emotion entirely would be impossible, but we can stop fueling it with our behavior.
The Complexities of Human Love
Tech may not be responsible for all the woes of modern love and human connection—but it may reflect our innate desire to find simple solutions to complex problems.
If You Want Success, Pursue Happiness
Many people chase achievement, assuming it will lead to well-being. They should reverse that order of operations.
When Virtues Become Vices
When addictive behaviors override our desires, it may be a sign to investigate the gap between what we crave and what’s really good for us.
Why We Do Things We Know We’ll Regret
Our instincts often steer us to love things and use people. We need to do the opposite.
Technology Can Make Your Relationships Shallower
But it’s all in how you use it.
How To Season 3: When Expectations Don’t Meet Reality
The building blocks for realigning expectations and reality in happiness
Don’t Objectify Yourself
Thinking of yourself as an observer is better for your happiness than obsessing over being observed.
11 Ancient Solutions for Modern Malaise
The Roman philosopher Seneca’s essay “On a Happy Life” is full of lessons that are as pertinent today as they were two millennia ago.
What’s Missing From Empathy
Feeling others’ pain can make everyone less happy if you don’t learn to tolerate it.
Don’t Teach Your Kids to Fear the World
Scaring children won’t keep them safe. Instead, help them see the good in the world.
A Shortcut for Feeling Just a Little Happier
Mental and physical pain share neurological roots. A simple painkiller can help with both.
Honesty Is Love
Sharing hard truths might be uncomfortable, but it’s a surer route to happiness than hiding them.
To Get Out of Your Head, Get Out of Your House
Spending time in nature can help relieve stress and anxiety.
How to Embrace Doing Nothing
Absolute idleness is both harder and more rewarding than it seems.
How to Be Happy in a Recession
A financial downturn doesn’t have to cause an emotional one.
A Happiness Columnist’s Three Biggest Happiness Rules
A good life isn’t just about getting the details right. Here are some truths that transcend circumstance and time.
The Trouble With Zooming Forever
Videochatting may be convenient, but it will never make us as happy as real human interaction.
The Magic of a Little Danger
To get happier, be brave, not reckless.
Don’t Surround Yourself With Admirers
Instead, befriend people who inspire awe in you.
How to Stop Dating People Who Are Wrong for You
Focus on the long term. Don’t try to replace your ex. Plus three more cures for unhealthy romantic habits.
How to Make the Baggage of Your Past Easier to Carry
Rewriting the stories you tell about yourself can make for a better future.
The Case for Mindful Cursing
Swearing can make you happier, as long as you do it for the right reasons.
The Perks of Being a Hot Mess
No one’s judging you as harshly as you judge yourself.
The Two Choices That Keep a Midlife Crisis at Bay
Middle age is an opportunity to find transcendence.
Mindfulness Hurts. That’s Why It Works.
Facing the painful parts of life head-on is the only way to feel at home with yourself.
The Key to a Good Parent-Child Relationship? Low Expectations.
Imperfect people can still enjoy a satisfying and healthy bond.
Ben Franklin’s Radical Theory of Happiness
Ken Burns grades the Founding Father’s pursuit of a good life.
How to Stop Freaking Out
If you can prevent your emotions from taking over in the face of stress, you can avoid a lot of regret and set a good example for others.
10 Practical Ways to Improve Happiness
For when you need advice that goes beyond “Be Danish”
Sports Are Great Because They’re Pointless
The most trivial things can build the strongest relationships.
A Gentler, Better Way to Change Minds
Stop wielding your values as a weapon and start offering them as a gift.
What the Second-Happiest People Get Right
If you make happiness your primary goal, you might miss out on the challenges that give life meaning.
Choose Enjoyment Over Pleasure
Pleasure is addictive and animal; enjoyment is elective and human.
Trolls Aren’t Like the Rest of Us
Online jerks and offline jerks are largely one and the same. Here’s how to keep them from affecting your happiness.
Find More Ways to Be an Outsider
Doing so may feel painful, but it’s one of the best investments you will ever make.
The Kind of Smarts You Don’t Find in Young People
America needs more than innovation; it needs wisdom.
Why Success Can Feel So Bitter
Achieving a goal and achieving happiness are two entirely different things.
The Seven Habits That Lead to Happiness in Old Age
Your well-being is like a retirement account: The sooner you invest, the greater your returns will be.
The Common Dating Strategy That’s Totally Wrong
If you’re looking for romance, stop focusing on what you and your date have in common.
The Problem With ‘No Regrets’
If you never pine for a different past, you’ll stay trapped in a cycle of mistakes.
Art Should Be a Habit, Not a Luxury
Just like exercise and sleep, engaging with the arts is a necessity for a full and happy life.
Live Like the Ancient Cynics
Modern cynicism traps you in an unhappy cycle. The original version will set you free.
How to Succeed at Failure
Sometimes you just can’t win. Make the most of it.
Listen to Your Own Advice
Guilt, fear, and low self-esteem can stop you from living by your own wisdom. Here’s how to overcome them.
Give Your Money. Give Your Time. Don’t Tell Anyone.
You can find deep, lasting happiness in a good deed that no one knows you did.