After three decades researching human hope and happiness, I discovered a method you can use to measure your happiness. It’s based on this simple equation: Hope ÷ Hunger = Happiness This math formula — hope divided by hunger equals happiness — says that the more hopeful and less hungry you are, the happier you become. … Read more
As the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute, my work is dedicated to measuring and understanding what improves people’s wellbeing and overall quality of life. We’re based in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, one of the countries that is consistently ranked the happiest in the world. Danes are often surprised by this fact. As someone … Read more
Everyone experiences hardships. Resilient people often lean on their mental toughness to overcome those challenges. They don’t act like their problems don’t exist. Rather, they have self-compassion, allowing them to view emotions like stress or disappointment as a learning opportunities, as bestselling author and leadership expert Brené Brown said in a 2022 episode of her … Read more
As a faculty member at Yale, I teach hundreds of people every year. I’ve observed that although all of my students have extraordinary qualities, only some of them go on to live extraordinary lives. What makes them so special? They have a healthy relationship with themselves. Most people, however, have the opposite: a toxic relationship … Read more
The thought of round-the-clock “togetherness” — with friends, family or strangers bound together in a tour group — can be overwhelming to the estimated 57% of people who lean toward introversion. Solo travel can suit introverts, who tend to re-energize by time spent alone. But even as its popularity increases, most trips are taken with … Read more
Scrolling through my Venmo transactions, it’s evident that requests for comically small amounts of money are almost always made by friends who were either born with or earn more money than me. The experience is curious and seemingly universal. “Rich people love to Venmo request you $4.72 for like half a bagel because they have … Read more
The WHO estimates that people aged 60+ will be approximately 22% of the global population by 2050. Momo Productions | Digitalvision | Getty Images People are living longer now than ever before. As medical technology advances and medicines become more effective, mortality rates have also fallen. While this is a major success for humanity, signaling … Read more
You’re probably not as good of a listener as you think you are. Statistically, it’s true for most people. Many professionals believe that they’re highly attentive, but 70% of them actually exhibit poor listening habits in the workplace, according to a 2020 University of Southern California report. So you’ve got to be clever if you … Read more
This Asian country has one of the longest-lived populations in the world. Koh Sze Kiat | E+ | Getty Images Singapore is the world’s latest “blue zone” — defined as a place where people live longer and healthier lives. “Singapore has … the highest health-adjusted life expectancy in the world. So whatever Singapore did, it … Read more
After a frustrating day at work or fight with your significant other, calling a friend to complain might seem like a good idea. Venting won’t help you manage your anger, though, according to a recent paper published in Clinical Psychology Review. Researchers studied how effective arousal-increasing activities, like venting or running, and arousal-decreasing activities, like … Read more
