Read moreOften, the more reliably you perform a task, the less likely it is for someone to notice that you’re doing it and to feel grateful and to feel any impulse to help or to take a turn.
Read moreLike most people, I have several pet subjects – that may or may not be interesting to other people. Don’t get me started on happiness, or habits, or children’s literature, or Winston Churchill, unless you really want to talk about it.
Read moreI’m constantly on the hunt for insights about happiness or ideas about how to be happier – which probably makes me a somewhat tiresome companion at times.
Read moreI read a lot, all the time, but often I read books for research, or because they’re interesting to me in some way, even if they aren’t exactly ‘pleasurable.’
Read moreI embrace treats, but I’m also very wary of treats. Treats help us feel energized, appreciated, and enthusiastic – but very often, the things we choose as ‘treats’ aren’t good for us. The pleasure lasts a minute, but then feelings of guilt, loss of control, and other negative consequences just deepen the lousiness of the day.
Read moreA series of small but real accomplishments gives people the energy and confidence to continue. For instance, a person who wants to write a novel might resolve to write one sentence each day. Or a person who wants to start running might resolve to run for one minute.