Are you full of zest? I hope so – it’s the character strength second most correlated with well-being. (Hope is #1). Positive psychologists use the following 3 survey questions to estimate a person’s level of zest. For each question, a 1-5 scale is used, where 1 = strongly agree, 3 = neutral, and 5 = … Read more

In the past two weeks I’ve made a number of changes that I’ve been putting off for years. The biggest change is that I exercise my willpower to failure every day. As I talked about yesterday, I didn’t suddenly discover a willpower secret or lasting source of inspiration. Over the past three months, I have … Read more

Are you a gambler; do you like to take unrealistic chances? I’m guessing you said ‘no’ to that question. Are you optimistic; not all the time, but on balance? If you said “yes” to this question but “no” to the first, I’m going to call you out. Optimism is a blind man’s gamble. Cultivate optimism. That’s advice … Read more

As a reader of this blog, can I assume that you want to increase your levels of happiness and overall life performance? If so, ‘good’ sleep is not optional.  Do you think you get ‘good’ sleep? According to a poll by the National Sleep Foundation, less than 37% of Americans routinely get high-quality sleep.1 I … Read more

Is Omega-3 the silver bullet of supplementation? It’s potential effects are vast, from improving cholesterol numbers, reducing the risk of developing diabetes, reducing inflammation, preventing renal disease, assisting in weight loss, increasing muscle growth, reducing stress, improving cognition, and boosting mood.1 But don’t let the hype confuse you. There are conflicting studies (a lot of them, actually); they just don’t get … Read more

Does watching TV make you happier? It certainly distracts, but is more happiness generated by this form of entertainment or by living in the present moment? In this post on wathing TV and its effects on happiness we take a hard look at the research behind TV watching and happiness, and see if there is … Read more

Last week, I declared June the Month of Happiness. I decided to post one article every weekday, each containing a practical idea that you can apply to become happier, immediately. We talked about psychostimulants, laughter, gratitude, fake smiles, and making happy friends. I’m sure you’ll find at least one article that fits your interests, personality, and situation. Day 1: … Read more

Emotions are contagious. Scientists are still debating the how and why, but we all know this intuitively. When we talk to someone sad, we tend to get depressed ourselves. When we talk to someone filled with joy, we just can’t help but feel a little better. A long-term network study of 4,739 connected individuals put numbers … Read more