Perdreau: Finding Happiness

Moving your body is one of the best-supported ways to lift your mind. What research on exercise and mental health says, with Juvenal and Nietzsche.

Some of the best enjoyment comes from doing something hard and doing it well. What research on flow and effort says, with Albert Camus.

Meeting new people opens doors, and it also makes us happier than we expect. What research on weak ties and talking to strangers says, with Aristotle and Martin Buber.

Is looking back a trap or something worth keeping? What research on time perspective and nostalgia says, with Kierkegaard and Heraclitus.

Mistakes help us learn, but harsh self-criticism gets in the way. What research on learning from errors and self-compassion says, with Confucius.

We track money carefully but rarely track time. What research on time, money and happiness says, with Aristotle and Thoreau.

Envy is one of the quietest ways we undermine our own happiness. What research and Bertrand Russell say about envy, and how to turn the sting into something useful.

Books let you borrow the thinking of the best people in the world. What research says about curiosity, learning, reading and a good life.

Optimism helps, but fantasies can backfire. What research says about expectations, and how to pair hope with honesty.