This is how you should commit suicide
his book This Is How, Augusten Burroughs makes an important distinction between suicide and ending your life. Via This Is How: I realized suicide was the last thing I wanted to do. It was actually the opposite of what I desired. Suicide would not accomplish any of my goals: 1. Punishment of those who made me miserable 2. The infliction of lifelong guilt and remorse in everybody who had ever met me 3. Idolization by other suicidal teenagers 4. Something named…
2 minutes
What can you learn about happiness from the unhappiest place on Earth?
ic Weiner traveled all over the world -- from the most joy-filled countries to the unhappiest place on Earth -- for his book The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World. His first stop is to check out the World Database of Happiness in the Netherlands where he reviews studies on well-being. He sums up the research pretty quickly and pretty well. Via The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the…
6 minutes
Does reading the news make you unhappy — without you even realizing it?
uld news make you unhappy? The news is always extreme stories about violence, sex, tragedy -- and always has been. There's a good article and some recent research that gives us more insight. So how can news make you unhappy? Rolf Dobelli, author of The Art of Thinking Clearly has a long article in The Guardian which makes a compelling argument that the news brings us down. Highlights: News leads us to walk around with the completely wrong risk map…
3 minutes
Laws of subtraction: Should you do less to get more out of life?
fe is so busy these days. In an effort to slow it down it seems we only end up adding more. Is less what we really need? If so, how do you even start down that road? Matthew May explores this in his book The Laws of Subtraction: 6 Simple Rules for Winning in the Age of Excess Everything pulling from the work of many experienced contributors. What are the Six Laws of Subtraction? Here are May's six rules, and I've highlighted research…
4 minutes
Good old days: What can the modern world learn from older societies?
e good old days. Despite all the undeniable benefits recent centuries have brought, you may have a nagging feeling that we've lost something in the process. Jared Diamond (author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning must-read Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies) has a new book to reassure you you're not crazy. The World Until Yesterday answers the question "What can we learn from traditional societies?" looking at diet, family, child-rearing, religion, violence and more. What made the good old…
4 minutes
Harvard professor Michael Norton explains how to be happier
chael Norton Michael Norton is an associate professor of marketing at Harvard Business School. He is co-author of the new book, Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending, which explains how the latest social science research can help you spend your money in ways that improve your happiness. (More on the book here.) Mike and I spoke about how time affects happiness, why money is so motivating and how Netflix might just be making us less happy. Why are we…
6 minutes
Is being delusional a good thing?
ing delusional is bad Which person does everyone think is going to get into heaven? "Me." Via Sidetracked: Why Our Decisions Get Derailed, and How We Can Stick to the Plan: One of my favorite examples of this human tendency comes from a survey conducted by U.S. News and World Report in 1997. The survey asked one thousand Americans the following question: “Who do you think is most likely to get into heaven?” Respondents indicated a 52 percent likelihood for then president…
4 minutes
5 Ways To Spend Your Money That Will Make You Happier
bsp; Can Money Buy Happiness? Yes. But you might be surprised by the ways you should spend it. Harvard professor Michael Norton and co-author Elizabeth Dunn have a new book out, Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending, that details the research on the 5 best ways to turn your dollars into lasting smiles. What are they? 1) Buy Experiences Via Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending: "...57 percent of Americans reported that the experiential purchase made them happier than…
3 minutes
