Happiness

28 episodes about this topic

8 Simple Mindset Shifts to Feel Gratitude Even When Your Life Isn't Where You Want it To Be

Jay Shetty explores how to practice authentic gratitude when life is not where you want it to be, emphasizing that gratitude should coexist with pain rather than deny it. He shares several mindset shifts and practical exercises, such as emotional granularity, contrast with your past self, microgratitude, embracing waiting seasons, borrowing others' joy, and thanking your past self. The episode focuses on using gratitude as a tool for resilience, self-compassion, and perspective rather than forced positivity.

Nov 28, 2025 Health & Fitness

The daily practice that could rewire your brain | Timm Chiusano

Emotional intelligence coach Timm Chiusano shares how noticing a manhole cover on one of the worst days of his career led him to realize he is 'addicted to appreciation.' He explains what appreciation is, how it differs from gratitude, and how consistently noticing and valuing everyday things and people has transformed his life and work. He offers simple practices for cultivating appreciation and argues it can make us happier, more present, and better able to connect and create change together.

Nov 27, 2025 Society & Culture

Try This Today: How to Use Gratitude to Feel Happier & Improve Your Relationships

Mel Robbins explores gratitude as a practical, science-backed tool for rewiring the brain away from negativity and reducing stress, rather than as a superficial positivity practice. Drawing on research studies and expert insights, she introduces three main gratitude tools: an unsent gratitude letter, a three-minute nightly gratitude journal (and morning variations), and a gratitude-focused text chain. Throughout the episode, she emphasizes how small, consistent gratitude practices can improve mental and physical health, deepen relationships, and help listeners reclaim control over their attention and emotional state.

Nov 27, 2025 Education

#837: How to Simplify Your Life in 2026 - New Tips from Derek Sivers, Seth Godin, and Martha Beck

Tim Ferriss departs from his usual long-form interview format to explore how a few key decisions can dramatically simplify life in the coming year. He frames the episode with the idea of finding single choices that eliminate hundreds of downstream decisions, drawing on lessons from past guests and management thinkers. Derek Sivers, Seth Godin, and Martha Beck each share specific philosophies and concrete personal rules they've used to reduce complexity, set boundaries, and orient their lives around simplicity, focus, and deep joy.

Nov 26, 2025 Business

6 Lessons I Wish I Knew in My 20's & 30's (This Will INSTANTLY Give You Direction!)

Jay Shetty, speaking directly to people in their 20s and 30s, shares six psychological and life lessons about loving the process over results, distinguishing your inner voice from external noise, and separating success from happiness. He explains how real confidence is built through self-trust and small follow-throughs, why most rejection is statistical rather than personal, and how healing often feels messy and disorienting even as your brain and nervous system genuinely change. He frames the 20s as a training ground of "firsts" and identity disruption, encouraging listeners to treat confusion and failure as emotional data and practice rather than proof of inadequacy.

Nov 21, 2025 Health & Fitness

Most Replayed Moment: Why You're Never Satisfied! The 4 Pillars of Lasting Happiness

The conversation explores the components of happiness, distinguishing between pleasure, enjoyment, and satisfaction, and explaining how social connection and struggle contribute to deeper fulfillment. It examines the hedonic treadmill, the arrival fallacy, and an equation for satisfaction that emphasizes managing desires rather than accumulating more. The discussion then shifts to setting better goals around faith, family, friendship, and work that serves others, using fitness and habits as examples, and concludes with a framework for life meaning based on coherence, purpose, and significance, illustrated through two probing questions about why one is alive and what one is willing to die for.

Nov 14, 2025 Business

I Did Nothing For 2 Weeks. It Made Me Better At Everything.

Two co-hosts catch up after one has a new baby and the other returns from his grandfather's funeral, leading into honest reflections on paternity leave, men's emotional experience with newborns, and how much time off is actually useful. They explore Aristotle's concept of flourishing, the value of leisure and dedicated thinking time, and how engineered rest and movement can produce creative breakthroughs, tying into one host's project to write concise "one-hour" books and the discipline required for deep work. The conversation then shifts to Paul Graham's framework for procrastination, the transformative power of a parent or grandparent instilling belief in a child, immigrant family stories, the modern scarcity of belonging versus information abundance, and a fast-growing group travel company that builds community and reduces loneliness.

Nov 12, 2025 Business

My journey to thank all the people responsible for my morning coffee | A.J. Jacobs (re-release)

Author A.J. Jacobs describes how his tendency to focus on negatives led him to experiment with gratitude by thanking all the people involved in making his daily cup of coffee. What began as a family mealtime ritual evolved into a global quest to thank more than a thousand people along the coffee supply chain, yielding five key lessons about attention, savoring, invisible work, behavioral change, and global interconnectedness. He argues that genuine gratitude not only improves personal well-being but also inspires concrete action to help others, such as supporting access to safe water.

Nov 11, 2025 Society & Culture

Jay & Radhi Talk About Why Men Feel So Lonely

Jay Shetty and Radhi Devlikhia discuss why so many men feel lonely, drawing on recent research about a "friendship recession" and their own personal experiences. They explore how male friendships are often structured around activities rather than emotional sharing, the stigma men face when being vulnerable, and how online narratives about masculinity can discourage openness. They offer practical ideas for building deeper connections, reframing vulnerability as a strength, and intentionally cultivating a small circle of trusted friends.

Nov 8, 2025 Health & Fitness

3 Questions to Ask Yourself to Figure Out What You Really Want

Mel Robbins guides listeners through a three-question framework called the Odyssey Plan, developed by Stanford professors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, to rethink their current life trajectory. She uses examples, research, and personal stories to show how visualizing your current path, imagining a forced change, and dreaming without constraints can reveal "unfinished business" and new possibilities. The episode concludes with practical advice on turning these insights into small daily experiments that gradually redesign your life.

Nov 3, 2025 Education

#833: Jack Canfield - Selling 600+ Million Books, Success Principles, and How He Made The 4-Hour Workweek Happen

Tim Ferriss interviews Jack Canfield about his life, from a difficult childhood and early teaching career to becoming co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and author of The Success Principles. Jack explains how mentorship from W. Clement Stone shaped his views on responsibility, goal setting, and success, and details the persistence and grassroots marketing that turned Chicken Soup for the Soul into a global phenomenon. He also discusses plant medicine experiences, limiting beliefs, decluttering "messes," aging, and why he is partly retiring to focus on family and creative hobbies.

Oct 29, 2025 Business

Most Replayed Moment: Why Does Commitment Feel So Scary? How to Build a Strong, Lasting Relationship

The host and an unnamed relationship expert discuss whether traditional institutions like marriage and the nuclear family still make sense in modern society, examining both their social functions and personal trade-offs. They explore what actually predicts satisfaction in long-term partnerships, emphasizing individual well-being, resilience, and open-mindedness over rigid value alignment. The conversation also covers gendered dating preferences, evolutionary versus socialized drivers of attraction, and how self-esteem and societal narratives shape who we choose and how we evaluate potential partners.

Oct 24, 2025 Business

How to live an asymmetric life

The host outlines five "guaranteed" ways to live a miserable life-avoiding deep friendships, remaining indecisive, neglecting goals and tracking, constantly switching projects, and trying to beat the stock market by picking individual stocks-and then explains how doing the opposite leads to a happier, more successful life. He uses philosophical ideas, psychological experiments, personal stories, and financial data to illustrate how close relationships, decisive action, clear goals, long-term focus, and simple index-fund investing compound over time. The episode concludes with a concise recap of the five positive behaviors listeners should adopt.

Oct 17, 2025 Business

You're Manifesting Wrong! Follow THIS 3-Step Alignment Formula That Actually Works (This is Life Changing!)

Jay Shetty breaks down common myths about manifestation and reframes it as a process of clarity, belief, and aligned, consistent action rather than magical thinking. He walks through seven specific misconceptions-about magic, positivity, journaling, wanting, a smooth path, passivity, and material goals-using research, analogies, and personal stories. The episode emphasizes building systems, taking concrete steps, and aligning goals with deeper values and purpose.

Oct 17, 2025 Health & Fitness

What it's really like to win the lottery | Matt Pitcher

Former financial advisor Matt Pitcher shares stories from his work with UK National Lottery winners to explore how sudden wealth affects people's lives. Through three contrasting case studies, he shows how a lottery win can strain relationships, fuel fleeting consumerism, or be used to buy precious time and memories with loved ones. He concludes by urging listeners to reflect on how they already spend their limited budgets of time and money, arguing that those able to listen to this talk have effectively already "won the lottery of life."

Oct 16, 2025 Society & Culture

How Can We Break Our Addiction to Contempt? (Update)

Stephen Dubner interviews Arthur Brooks about his argument that American politics has fallen into an addictive cycle of contempt, driven by media incentives, populism, and habits of communication, and that the most effective antidote is deliberately practiced love and warmheartedness. Brooks, drawing on economics, neuroscience, psychology, and his own varied career, explains how contempt differs from anger, how financial crises fuel polarization, and why media and political structures amplify division. He offers concrete techniques for individuals and leaders to reduce contempt, cultivate love as a verb, and reorient politics toward a competition over opportunity rather than mutual hatred.

Oct 15, 2025 Society & Culture

Love 2.0: Reimagining Our Relationships

The episode first traces how marriage has evolved from an economic and political alliance into a love-based, self-expressive partnership, and explores how rising expectations can either suffocate relationships or, when met, produce unprecedented fulfillment. Psychologist Eli Finkel discusses his "all-or-nothing" model of marriage and offers practical strategies to align expectations with the time and energy couples actually invest. In the second half, psychologist Jonathan Adler examines how the stories we tell about our lives-especially redemption and contamination narratives-shape our well-being, illustrated through powerful listener stories about trauma, illness, grief, and resilience.

Oct 13, 2025 Science

TED Talks Daily Book Club: Essential questions to ask your future self | Meg Jay (re-release)

Elise Hu introduces a re-released TED Membership conversation featuring clinical psychologist Meg Jay on the concept of the empathy gap between our present and future selves. In her talk, Jay explains how difficulty imagining our future selves can lead us to neglect long-term well-being, and she offers practical questions and thought exercises to build a connection with who we will be at around age 35. She then speaks with Whitney Pennington-Rogers about how these ideas apply not only to people in their 20s but at any stage of life, and how to turn a one-time reflection into an ongoing practice.

Oct 12, 2025 Society & Culture

Love 2.0: How to Fix Your Marriage, Part 2

Host Shankar Vedantam talks with psychologist James Cordova about how blame and efforts to change our partners often trap couples in years-long conflicts, and how practices like genuine acceptance, "eating the blame," and lowering pride can restore intimacy. In the second part of the episode, public health researcher Victor Strecker discusses the science of purpose, how a clear sense of purpose supports health and resilience, and answers listener questions about burnout, caregiving, loss, empty nesting, and finding meaning at different life stages.

Oct 6, 2025 Science

Financial Expert: Passive Income Is A Scam! Post-Traumatic Broke Syndrome Is Controlling Millions!

Stephen and Morgan Housel discuss why most financial advice focuses on saving and investing while almost nothing is said about how to spend money in a way that actually improves life. Morgan explains the psychology behind spending, status, envy, trauma around money, and argues that true wealth is more about independence and contentment than income or possessions. They also challenge the myth of passive income, explore inequality and social media's impact on expectations, and examine how to minimize future regret through clearer values and better decisions.

Oct 6, 2025 Business

Try It for 1 Week: 6 Small Ways to Bring Back the Happiness, Energy, and Fun

Mel Robbins talks about the growing sense that life is less fun, more curated, and weighed down by stress, and argues that fun is not a luxury but a necessity for mental and physical health. Drawing on research and personal stories, she explains how micro moments of joy and playfulness build resilience and combat burnout, anxiety, and numbness. She then offers six practical ways listeners can deliberately bring more happiness, energy, and fun back into their daily lives.

Oct 6, 2025 Education

RWH061: How To Thrive No Matter What w/ Arnold Van Den Berg

Host William interviews investor Arnold Vandenberg about his decades-long exploration of the subconscious mind, one-pointed attention, and flow states, drawing on examples from yogic practices, neuroscience, and extreme situations like concentration camps. Arnold explains how he has used focus, breathwork, self-hypnosis, affirmations, and character development to transform his health, athletic performance, investing career, and resilience in the face of adversity. He also shares his current investment positioning in an overvalued market, emphasizing commodities and capital preservation, and concludes with reflections on happiness, love, and overcoming selfishness.

Oct 5, 2025 Business

Most Replayed Moment: Sadhguru on Why You Don't Need a Life Purpose!

In this replayed conversation, Sadhguru challenges the common notion that humans must discover a singular life purpose, arguing instead that life has no inherent purpose and that inner joy and stability should be the focus. He emphasizes taking responsibility for one's inner experience, learning how the mind and body function, and cultivating inner balance through conscious practices rather than depending on external circumstances. The discussion touches on the impacts of social conditioning, trauma, the limits of intellect, and the importance of turning inward to manage one's own inner state.

Oct 3, 2025 Business

This Shocking Truth About Other People Will Change Your Life

Mel Robbins interviews researcher and author Dr. Todd Rose about how our hardwired need to belong drives conformity and how this, combined with social media dynamics, creates "collective illusions"-situations where most people go along with things they privately don't agree with because they wrongly assume everyone else does. Rose explains data showing that people overwhelmingly value relationships, character, meaningful work, and contribution, not fame and status, and that self-silencing to fit in damages both physical and mental health. They explore how authenticity and the simple practices of "let them" and "let me" can dismantle illusions, rebuild social trust, and dramatically improve individual life satisfaction and societal cohesion.

Sep 29, 2025 Education

TIP757: Richer, Wiser, Happier Q3 2025 w/ Stig Brodersen & William Green

Host Stig Brodersen and co-host William Green have a wide-ranging quarterly Richer, Wiser, Happier discussion on universal truths, money and happiness, and the role of books and teachers in living well. They explore epistemic humility, cultural and psychological differences in values, and how these insights apply to investing decisions. They also examine research on income and happiness, how wealth can and cannot improve life, and share their own reading habits and spiritual influences that shape their thinking about how to live.

Sep 28, 2025 Business

The Best Financial Advice You'll Ever Hear

Mel Robbins interviews financial author Morgan Housel about why financial success is primarily about behavior, expectations, and patience rather than income, education, or math. They explore how comparison, moving goalposts, and status-driven spending keep people broke, and contrast that with using money as a tool for independence and contentment. Housel lays out simple, practical habits-like checking your accounts daily, saving something every time you're paid, and investing patiently-that anyone can adopt regardless of starting point.

Sep 22, 2025 Education

(#4) Elise's Top Ten: The power of vulnerability | Brené Brown

Host Elise Hu introduces a replay of Brene Brown's seminal TEDxHouston talk, which explores her research on shame, vulnerability, and what she calls "wholehearted" living. Brown explains how a sense of worthiness is the key factor that separates people who feel love and belonging from those who struggle for it, and describes how embracing vulnerability-rather than numbing it or seeking certainty and perfection-leads to greater joy, connection, and authenticity. She closes by urging listeners to let themselves be seen, love with their whole hearts, practice gratitude and joy, and believe they are enough.

Sep 20, 2025 Society & Culture

8 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Turned 30

Jay Shetty shares eight psychological and life lessons he wishes he had understood before turning 30, aimed at saving time, energy, and emotional stress. Drawing on research in psychology and human behavior, he explains concepts like the spotlight effect, the effort heuristic, socio-emotional selectivity, decision fatigue, social contagion, burnout, and affective forecasting. He then turns these ideas into practical guidance on how to think about other people's opinions, productivity, friendships, discipline, fear, community, meaningful work, and the unpredictability of future happiness and pain.

Sep 19, 2025 Health & Fitness