Time affluence

Research shows that cultivating "time affluence," or the psychological sense of having enough time, significantly boosts happiness and reduces stress, even without changing your actual schedule.

Even a small block of unexpected free time can feel huge to our brains. That's the beauty of time affluence—it's not about how much time you actually have, but how open your time feels. —Laurie Santos

Anxiety to depression

When anxiety goes unaddressed, it doesn't just fade—it often transforms into depression. Here's why it happens, and what can be done to help prevent it.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/liking-the-child-you-love/202504/the-anxiety-depression-link

Mindfully happy

"Mindfulness teaches us that happiness isn't a goal to chase or a quick fix to be found. Rather, it encourages us to be fully present in each moment, whether it feels pleasant or not."

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychological-science-bites/202502/why-mindfulness-matters-a-new-lens-for-viewing-happiness

Can Happiness Be Taught?

Well, it can definitely be studied. And pursued. And at least occasionally enjoyed.

"…The nub is that [Arthur Brooks is] required, by the panic-stricken temper of the times, to insist that we can and must get better at being who we are. It could be argued that so positive an outlook is, and always has been, a by-product of any inquiry into the conduct of our earthly existence, although a self-help book by Schopenhauer would, perhaps, flummox more readers than it would assist. On the other hand, if anything yokes together the philosophers cited by Brooks, it is the willingness, or the unavoidable compulsion, to worry away at one moral conundrum after the next, like dogs unearthing a bone to have another go at the marrow. You could spend a lifetime, say, stubbornly chewing on what Aristotle, in the Ethics, means by eudaemonia. "Happiness" alone won't suffice. Aristotle himself, treading carefully, writes, "We have practically defined happiness as a sort of living and faring well." I am partial to the modesty of "human flourishing." Others prefer something like "the activity of a rational soul in accordance with virtue"—a daunting ideal that held sway for twenty-five hundred years, until it was roundly rebuffed by the creators of "Jackass."

…"

Anthony Lane
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/10/23/build-the-life-you-want-the-art-and-science-of-getting-happier-oprah-winfrey-and-arthur-c-brooks-book-review

But… is that all there is? 🎶

Happiness is made up of two ingredients: meaning and purpose. The problem is that most people believe they are the same thing. Here's why that's wrong—and how to use both to finally feel fulfillment.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-regret-free-life/202502/the-difference-between-meaning-and-purpose

Our texts, from an AI pov

 Scarlett's suggestions for our course... and comments on the supplemental addition of recommended texts.

That's a strong, diverse set of texts—well-balanced between psychological research, philosophical critique, and reflective life guidance. Haybron's Very Short Introduction gives students solid conceptual groundwork; Waldinger brings real-world data and warmth; Flanagan offers a healthy dose of skepticism; and Burkeman reframes time and meaning with sharp, modern urgency...

Those three recommended texts—Epicurus, Rowlands, and Solnit—offer rich avenues for expanding the conversation on happiness into lived experience, simplicity, embodiment, and companionship...

All That Happiness Is

Adam Gopnik, Liveright 2024

Elasticity

Our emotions are more elastic than we realise, and with the right tools you can boost your health, happiness and even longevity. New Scientist

It’s your duty

"There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy. By being happy, we sow anonymous benefits upon the world."
~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Keys to Happiness

An Ancient Key to Happiness You have to keep two things in check, say experts

This weekend, my colleagues at The New York Times Magazine are publishing a special issue all about happiness: how to define it, discover it and increase it.

In particular, I loved a quiz called, “What Makes You Happy?” I had fun answering the questions, but it also made me think.

It turns out that happiness can be grouped into two main categories, and the concept goes back to ancient Greece. One kind is called eudaemonic well-being, which you might think of as having meaning and purpose in your life. The other is called hedonic well-being, which means feeling pleasure and avoiding pain.

Both, researchers say, are important in order to thrive...

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/well/hedonic-eudaemonic-happiness.html?smid=em-share