Do your happiness homework

Bliss is more about habits than a state of mind

Since the dawn of time, people have wanted to become happier. Since the dawn of time, people have also fretted that this is rather a frivolous pursuit amidst the world’s suffering. Pandemics aren’t new, and the world has gone through plenty of terrible things. But it turns out that happier people have more energy and more motivation to solve the problems around them — enriching their communities as they feel better themselves.

So how do we become happier?

Some of our happiness is set. Some (but not much) is based on circumstances. And then about 40 percent (according to one of my favorite books, Sonja Lyubomirsky’s The How of Happiness) comes from intentional activity. As Lyubomirsky writes, “If you’re not happy today, then you won’t be happy tomorrow unless you take things into your own hands and take action.”

This brings us to our happiness homework.