How to Build a Life
A column about pointing yourself toward happiness
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Illustration by Jan Buchczik How to Follow the Right Star
The ancient Christmas story of the Magi contains a message that can guide your modern search for happiness.
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Illustration by Jan Buchczik What I Wish I’d Known When I Was Younger
The three reasons old people are happier that work for any age
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Illustration by Jan Buchczik How to Be Happy Like Thomas Aquinas
Modern social science finds that the 13th-century theologian’s recipe for “imperfect happiness” turns out to be perfect.
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Illustration by Jan Buchczik James Patterson’s Maxims for a Happy Life
Here’s what I learned about creativity and contentment from the celebrated author.
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Illustration by Jan Buchczik The Right Attitude to Gratitude
Being thankful is the ultimate win-win: If the person being thanked feels happy, the person doing the thanking feels happier still.
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Illustration by Jan Buchczik To Get Happier, Make Yourself Smaller
Self-esteem is overrated. The better path to enlightenment is through contemplating one’s insignificance.
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Illustration by Jan Buchczik An Evening Ritual to Realize a Happier Life
The right preparation for a good night’s sleep is valuable for not only your physical health but your mental well-being too.
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Illustration by Jan Buchczik Three Rules for a Lasting Happy Marriage
To keep the flame alive, put love at the center of your life.
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Illustration by Jan Buchczik Why You Should Keep an Open Mind on the Divine
There are more things in heaven and Earth than are dreamed of in a purely materialist philosophy.
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Illustration by Jan Buchczik What True Wealth Looks Like
Money can make you happier, but only if you don’t care about it.
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Illustration by Jan Buchczik Feeling Desolate? There Is a Cure for That.
Everyone sooner or later faces a dark night of the soul. Don’t hide from yours; learn from it.
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Illustration by Jan Buchczik The Happiness of Choosing to Walk Alone
Going along with an untruth for fear of disagreeing with others is a form of self-betrayal that will make you miserable.
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Illustration by Jan Buchczik The Mind-Altering Effect of a Good Workout Routine
Few things lift your mood more than going to the gym. Exercise your body, and your mind will thank you.
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Illustration by Jan Buchczik Six Ways to Start Early and Lift Your Mood
Try my protocol for a happy start to the day and see what works for your own well-being.
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The Atlantic The Big Story: The Happiness Files
Arthur C. Brooks and Adrienne LaFrance discuss Brooks’s new book, The Happiness Files: Insights on Work and Life.
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Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty. How to Keep Time: Try Wasting It
In a culture obsessed with productivity, what would it mean to commit to letting it go?
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Illustration by Jan Buchczik Three Ways to Tell If Research Is Bunk
Here are some rules for deciding whether a new social-science finding is really useful to you.
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Illustration by Jan Buchczik The Sociopaths Among Us—And How to Avoid Them
You’re bound to come across the “Dark Triad” type of malignant narcissists in life—and they can be superficially appealing. Better to look for their exact opposite.
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Illustration by Jan Buchczik Why the Most Successful Marriages Are Start-Ups, Not Mergers
The business world turns out to have a very useful metaphor for people thinking about how to find happiness in a romantic partnership.
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Illustration by Jan Buchczik The Red Pill of Humility
To see yourself as you truly are is to discover the rewards of being more humble.
