The liberal arts can help students lead happier lives.
Tag Archives: Happiness
Why Daydreaming Is Actually Good For Your Brain
Letting your mind wander can benefit the brain, researchers say.
How You Can Use Anticipation to Enjoy Life More
Looking forward to something can be almost as good as experiencing it.
The Joy Workout
Six research-backed moves to improve your mood
Are You Happy? Your Boss Is Asking.
To some, the pursuit of workplace happiness — and its price, like an $18,000 “happiness M.B.A.” for managers — can seem like a corporate attempt to turn feelings into productivity.
What Your Dog’s Behavior Means
Dogs are “really good at reading our emotions,” says one expert. But we’re not so good at reading theirs.
How to ‘Romanticize Your Life’
A trend that took off early in the pandemic encourages people to appreciate life’s simple pleasures, a philosophy that resonates just as strongly two years later.
Spring Brings Joy, Even in a World on Fire
In this troubled time, it would be a crime to snuff out any flicker of joy that somehow leaps into life.
Heeding Warning Signs Before School Shootings
Readers criticize the school’s decision to allow Ethan Crumbley back into class, and the nation’s gun laws. Also: Chris Cuomo; gender-neutral in French; happiness.
When Michigan Beat Ohio State, I Cried Tears of Joy
The Euphoria of a Big Win, Explained.
In Africa, Dealing With Vaccine Challenges and the Omicron Variant
Vaccine shortages and skepticism, and rewarding countries for discovering variants. Also: Happiness and politics; unwanted children; beware of psychedelics.
How to Enjoy the Moment
A thought experiment for finding more happiness in the everyday.
How Liberals Can Be Happier
They can embrace social institutions like family, religion and local civic organizations.
A Spirit of Gratitude Is Healthy for Society
On Thanksgiving, consider the multiple benefits of giving thanks.
Conservatives Are Happier Than Liberals. Discuss.
New research raises as many question as it answers.
Sometimes I Hate My Husband’s Peloton
Yes, exercise is hugely beneficial. But can too much of a good thing cause tension in your relationship?
Post-Covid Happiness Comes in Groups
We find our greatest bliss in moments of “collective effervescence.”
Edward Diener, Psychologist Known as Dr. Happiness, Dies at 74
Since the 1980s, he was recognized as a leader in measuring what he called “subjective well-being.” And, yes, he was very happy.
How to Buy Happiness (Responsibly)
The great reopening offers ample opportunity to lift your spirits if you have some money to spare. Here’s how to do it right.
How Food May Improve Your Mood
The sugar-laden, high-fat foods we often crave when we are stressed or depressed, as comforting as they are, may be the least likely to benefit our mental health.
Plan Your Life Again, but Keep It Simple
Even as we are optimistic about re-emerging from this crisis, plotting the future can feel daunting or even downright impossible.
Finland Is Again the World’s Happiest Country, Report Finds
Finland, for the fourth consecutive year, topped a list of countries evaluated on the well-being of their inhabitants. “Really?” Finns ask.
Daydreaming Can Be Good for You
Far from a waste of time, daydreaming might be one of the best things you can do with your free time.
It’s OK to Feel Joy Right Now
Here’s how to prolong it.
The Pandemic Happiness Gap
New surveys show that in the last year, older adults tended to be more positive than younger ones, suggesting that the ability to cope improves with age.
A Happiness of Bluebirds
This year isn’t living up to my hopes, so I am learning to hope in a new way.
Travel and the Art of Anticipation
For most people, going on vacation during the pandemic has been the stuff of dreams. But as vaccination becomes a reality, it’s time to start nurturing your travel imagination.
Can Exercise Make You More Creative?
To spur innovation and ideas, try taking a walk.
Downsize New Years Resolutions for 2021
2020 was a rough one. Here’s how to make goals for 2021 that feel both satisfying and doable.
How Teenagers Use Free Time Affects Mood
Different choices for how young people use free time lead to different kinds of relief.
Happiness Won’t Save You
Philip Brickman was an expert in the psychology of happiness, but he couldn’t make his own pain go away.
What Scandinavians Can Teach Us About Embracing Winter
In the pandemic, rather than feeling depressed that the arrival of cold weather will mean you’ll be isolated indoors, try adopting a positive winter mind-set.
Twitter is Showing That People Are Anxious and Depressed
Researchers are looking at online behavior to gauge public mental health. The results aren’t pretty.
Laurie Santos on Keeping Covid-19 Self-Care From Being Selfish
The expert in positive psychology has a few simple ideas for sustaining mental well-being as Covid-19 continues.
How to Add More Play to Your Grown-Up Life — Even Now
Play can feel silly, unproductive and time consuming. And that’s precisely the point.
I Am Stuck Between Two Lives During This Pandemic
An artist battles anxiety by trying to stay present.
We Need a Trick to Feel Our Joys as Deep as Our Griefs
A true story.
Proud of Your Lockdown Baking? This Man Built a Giant Kookaburra
He simply wanted to give people a laugh.
To Build Resilience in Isolation, Master the Art of Time Travel
When the present is unpleasant, it helps to think ahead to the future and back to the past.
How to Get Your Partner to Take on More Emotional Labor
You can take concrete steps to more equitably divide emotional labor with your partner — starting with talking openly about the dynamic.
Cupid in Quarantine
A global tragedy has forced us into full-time togetherness. Here’s how couples can rekindle romantic love and grow together rather than apart.
How Honesty Could Make You Happier
An honesty journal can teach you a lot about living a better life.
Work. Walk 5 Minutes. Work.
Standing up and walking around for five minutes every hour during the workday could lift your mood, combat lethargy and even dull hunger pangs.