Understand that true flourishing involves taking on challenges, embracing failure, and navigating negative emotions, rather than expecting constant happiness.
Recognize that while there’s a genetic predisposition to happiness, everyone can put in the right work to change and improve their happiness levels.
Engage in doing nice things for other people, as this is a cross-cultural universal in happiness science proven to make you happier.
Shift focus from self-care and wellness towards doing for others, as data suggests this leads to greater happiness.
Translate personal experiences, even traumatic ones, into a form of service to others, as this can be very grounding, satisfying, and fulfilling.
Focus on what you learn and gain along the way, rather than solely on the final destination or next accolade, by being present throughout the journey.
Avoid constantly striving for the next thing; instead, pause to reflect on and appreciate the accomplishments you’ve already achieved.
Parents should work with their kids to scale back academic pressure, emphasize learning along the journey, assure unconditional love, and avoid pushing them solely for accolades.
Recognize that your natural intuitions about what makes you happy are often wrong, and science suggests doing something different.
After a long day, instead of passive activities, engage in more challenging forms of leisure such as calling a friend, going for a walk, or learning something new, becoming more other-oriented.
When feeling stressed, engage in behaviors like moving your body, contacting a friend, getting sleep, taking a walk, or thinking about what you can do for someone else, as these are effective in the moment.
Actively work to change negative thought patterns and shut off the self-critic in your head, as what you say to yourself affects performance and physiology.
When facing personal shortcomings, talk to yourself with the same gentle, proactive, problem-solving, and curious tone you would use with a friend.
Concentrate your energy and efforts on things that are within your control, as this approach leads to better outcomes and well-being.
Be more mindful about how social media and digital devices are making you feel, rather than denying their benefits or blindly using them.
Whenever you find your phone in your hand, use the ‘WWW’ acronym (What For, Why Now, What Else) to be more mindful of your usage, its triggers, and the opportunity costs.
If you have income, donate more of your money to charity, as people who do so tend to be happier.