Positive thinking

By   Kira M. Newman Technology can bring happiness. Anyone who’s found the perfect meditation app or downloaded a grandchild’s photo won’t doubt that. But technology can also bring anxiety, stress, and frustration. And that seems to be a given, too, making us throw our hands up in the air. We accept that technology will always be a mixed bag and we have to take the bad with the good. According to Amy Blankson, author of the new book, The Future of Happiness: 5 Modern Strategies for Balancing Productivity and Well-Being in the Digital Era , this attitude is a problem. “As tech advances and we accept these changes without pause, I worry that maybe our happiness is getting left behind, moving further down the priority list,” she writes. Instead, she argues, we should take back control of our happiness by pausing, becoming more self-aware, and setting intentional goals for our technological interactions. That way, we’ll cultivate more connection and produ...

By  Ilona Boniwell Health is part of every public-school education. But what is health? It’s more than just nutrition and gym class. As early as 1947, the World Health Organization defined health as a state of mental and social—not just physical—well-being. Today, more and more schools worldwide are integrating social-emotional learning into their curriculum, teaching skills such as self-awareness, empathy, and active listening. Research demonstrates that happy people are successful across multiple life domains, including marriage, relationships, health, longevity, income, and academic and work performance. They are better able to multitask and endure boring tasks, and are more creative, trusting, helpful and sociable. So how do we teach the skills of well-being to students? A few years ago, working with my colleague Lucy Ryan, we developed a comprehensive Well-Being Curriculum that is now being implemented in many elementary schools and high schools in the U...

By Robert Enright       When another person hurts us, it can upend our lives. Sometimes the hurt is very deep, such as when a spouse or a parent betrays our trust, or when we are victims of crime, or when we’ve been harshly bullied. Anyone who has suffered a grievous hurt knows that when our inner world is badly disrupted, it’s difficult to concentrate on anything other than our turmoil or pain. When we hold on to hurt, we are emotionally and cognitively hobbled, and our relationships suffer. Forgiveness is strong medicine for this. When life hits us hard, there is nothing as effective as forgiveness for healing deep wounds. I would not have spent the last 30 years of my life studying forgiveness if I were not convinced of this. Many people have misconceptions about what forgiveness really means—and they may eschew it. Others may want to forgive, but wonder whether or not they truly can. Forgiveness does not necessarily come easily; but ...

By Tchiki Davis       Happiness is something nearly everyone wants more of. Perhaps we don’t feel it often enough or strongly enough, or it seems to slip through our fingers far too easily. Many happiness seekers have read dozens of articles, yet they don’t feel much closer to creating the happiness they desire in their lives. If this sounds like you, don’t worry. Reading about the practices that increase happiness is a great first step. But the key that you may not have heard yet is this: To increase your happiness, you need a strategic plan for action. Making a plan for optimizing happiness is more important than most people realize. But think about it: Would you bake a cake without a recipe? Would you fix your transmission without the car manual? Would you go on a journey into the wilderness without a map? We know, intuitively, that a plan or guide or map—some kind of tool—makes it much easier to effectively navigate new territory. If long...

By Jill Suttie When I was in my twenties I took my first ever college course in economics. I remember my professor explaining the field’s basic assumptions—that markets work best when everyone looks out for their own self interest, which is human nature anyway—and my initial reaction to that, which was basically, “What bulls—-!”  Needless to say, I had trouble getting through that class. But now after reading Paul Zak’s newest book, The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity , I feel a bit of vindication. Zak, professor of economics and founding director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University, has studied trust in economic interactions and has come to a somewhat startling conclusion: that trust, not self-interest, is the basis of a well-functioning economic system. And, trust is mediated in large degree by the hormone oxytocin. That’s right…the same hormone that governs trusting behavior in sex and breastfeeding plays an imp...

By Jason Marsh One veteran haunted by the memory of men he couldn’t save, another by the men he has tortured. A child shuttled between five foster families in his first 22 months, now prone to slap himself in the face. Somehow their stories add up to a deeply hopeful new documentary, Free the Mind. The film tracks two very vulnerable and very different groups: veterans enrolled in a class to help them deal with their painful memories of war, and a class of preschoolers, some of whom are suffering from psychological or developmental disorders. It zeroes in on two of the veterans, Rich and Steve. Neither has been able to re-adjust to civilian life after returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan; both show symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): intense mood swings, trouble sleeping, flashbacks to some of the horrors they witnessed—or caused—during their service. Rich’s post-war volatility cost him his marriage; Steve’s invasive memories distract him from ...

By Jessica Alexander   For over 40 years in a row, Denmark has been voted as one of the happiest countries in the world. During this month’s Democratic primary debate, candidate Bernie Sanders said, “We should look to countries like Denmark” if we wanted the US to become a happier place—a comment that triggered fierce debate about Denmark’s public policies. What is the secret to the emotional success of this small Northern European country? In our new book The Danish Way of Parenting: A Guide to Raising The Happiest Kids in the World , I explore this question with my co-author, Danish psychotherapist Iben Sandahl. At least part of the answer lies with the Danish way of “hygge”—pronounced “hooga.” The word dates back to the 19th century. It is derived from the Germanic word hyggja, which means to think or feel satisfied. There are no exact translations of hygge but some attempts are “cozy” or “homey”—words that do little to encompass the full spectrum of what it is. ...

By  Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas In recent years, researchers have been trying to determine whether our political opinions—pro-life or pro-choice? Republican or Democrat?—are guided by fundamental differences between the minds of conservatives and liberals. A number of studies suggest that conservatives think in more structured and stable ways, while liberals reason more flexibly, changing their beliefs as they take new experiences into account. In October, a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscienc e found that these differences in thinking may be traceable to brain differences. New York University neuroscientist David Amodio    and his colleagues showed that brain responses to quick, unexpected changes in strategy differed between liberals and conservatives. First, research participants rated their political attitude on an 11-point scale, ranging from “very liberal” to “very conservative.” Then, with sensors attached to their scalp, they played a simple co...

By James Baraz, Michele Lilyanna          Can joy be cultivated? And, if so, can we teach our kids how to be more joyful in their lives? In our experience, the answer to both of these questions is yes. But it takes knowing what kinds of practices bring true happiness—and not just momentary pleasure—to your life. Once you’ve mastered that, it’s not too hard to introduce those practices to kids in a way that they can understand and appreciate. Our new book, Awakening Joy for Kids , is a resource for parents, teachers, and caregivers who want to give their kids the gift of authentic happiness. Filled with practices you can integrate into your day at home or at school, our book is designed to be a guide to helping your children increase their well-being and enable them to meet the stresses of the world with presence, self-compassion, and openness. We offer practices for adults as well as kids, since your own well-being is the best prescr...