Certain identities are deeply meaningful for the time and the place in which we live. Being a woman in the 21st century United States carries […]
Is Freedom the Pursuit of Happiness? The Boston Public Library Liberty Tree
I was wandering through the Boston Public Library‘s main branch at Copley Square (a truly enchanted building) when I stumbled across an interactive exhibit to […]
On Deliberately Practicing
In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell famously claimed that it takes 10,000 hours of practice for a person to become an expert at an activity. […]
I Gotta Be Me: When Authenticity is Hard
Being yourself is the quickest path to happiness, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy to do. Sometimes being true to yourself involves making hard […]
There Are Other Places to Go: Quitting As Success
If I were rich, I’d wear Vera Wang dresses to the galas and fetes that I assume would pepper my schedule. She’s known for the […]
The Work-Life Balance Myth
I don’t think I’m alone in this: I click on most articles with the phrase “work-life balance” in the title, especially if they seem to […]
If You Want to Be Happy . . . Find the Meaning in Your Life
Motivational psychology hinges on the idea that understanding what is most important to any individual person is the key to changing behavior. I’ve heard this […]
Controlling Your Way to Happiness?
In some ways, control is at the heart of the most common clinical approaches to mood disorders like depression. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the “gold […]
The Secret Ingredient to a Lasting Marriage? Kindness.
It seems silly to say this. The person you marry is supposed to be the person you love most. Of course you would be your […]