Why do we like to talk and write about ourselves so much? Neuroscience says it has an instant payoff.

But you can hijack your self-referential thinking patterns with these tips. THREAD: In 2012, Harvard neuroscientists showed that when people share info about themselves to others, it stimulates the nucleus accumbens & ventral tegmental areas of the brain – parts of the mesolimbic dopamine system that deliver rewards for things like gambling & drinking alcohol.

There is no such thing as a "happiness hack" to help you achieve happiness quickly and easily. However, there are some methods to ensure you're moving in the right direction.

Here are four ways to move towards being happier. Thread: 1. Check whether you're getting your happiness nourishment. If you go to a nutritionist because you feel that your diet needs improvement, they’re bound to analyze your macronutrient profile to see where it’s out of balance and make adjustments.

As @Oprah and I are working together to show in our new book "Build the Life You Want", anyone can make true progress in building a better life for themselves and others if they can get past these common myths, even amid a life that contains no small amount of suffering.

Thread: Myth 1: Happiness is a feeling. We all know what happiness feels like. It involves clear emotions such as joy, love, and interest—much as unhappiness involves emotions such as fear, sadness, disgust, and anger. But calling happiness itself—or unhappiness—a “feeling” is a mistake.

In a 2020 interview, Mike Tyson said: “You almost have to give your happiness up to accomplish your goals."

But that is what we might call the Tyson Paradox. Thread: Building a good life requires us to have goals that keep us focused, enthusiastic, and out of trouble. But actually attaining those goals might not give us the payoff we imagined, and could in fact bring us misery.

Did you know that simply seeking out people who are different from you can make you happier and smarter?

Here are three ways to start cultivating more diversity in your social life. Thread: 💡 1. Talk to strangers. The path of least resistance is to stay in your traditional friend group, where interactions are familiar and easy. But psychologists have shown that this posture is partly based on overestimating how awkward or unpleasant it will be to meet new people.

Aristotle proposed 10 happiness virtues more than two millennia ago, but I believe they provide a handy checklist for living well today.

Here’s an abbreviated list you might just want to put up on your fridge. Thread: Name your fears and face them. Courage can lead to resilience after adversity, and resilience leads to greater happiness.

Looking for a fulfilling #vacation? Consider turning leisure into learning for your happiest holiday experience ever. Education is a recreational activity that we often overlook.

THREAD: Did you know that the word for 'leisure' in Greek is 'skhole,' which is where we get 'school'? Philosopher Josef Pieper believed that leisure is the circumstance in which we can learn the most, if we understand and use it properly.

If you've recently been diagnosed with a mental health condition like depression or anxiety, you're not alone. Rates of these diagnoses have skyrocketed in recent years.

Let's explore some reasons behind this alarming increase. Thread: A 2021 study revealed a 26% increase in global anxiety disorders and a 28% increase in depressive disorders during the first year of the pandemic. These numbers are concerning, but there are other factors at play as well.

Today in my column @TheAtlantic, I ask why tech seems to make our relationships shallower, and how we can fight this without moving into a cave (without wifi) (1/7) theatlantic.com/family/archive… Social connectedness is a key to happiness. Lower it, and you will be worse off—and so will your loved ones, especially your kids. In one survey, 62 percent of U.S. kids thought their parents were too distracted to listen to them; the No. 1 reason was parents’ phone use. (2/7)

My wife, daughter, and I have just walked the Camino de Santiago, the ancient pilgrimage across Spain lasting from a few days to several months. Ours was a week, from the Portuguese border to Santiago de Compostela. Here, a brief reflection (with photos) on our journey. (1/17) The Camino is a breathtakingly beautiful hike, much of it on ancient Roman roads through rural Galicia. The Camino has attracted pilgrims for more than 1,000 years seeking solace, solutions, or spiritual clarity. (2/17)

Should you follow your dreams like they always say in commencement addresses? For happiness, even during the pandemic, my counsel to graduates is in my “How to build a life” column today @TheAtlantic. Here a synopsis… (1/4) theatlantic.com/family/archive… Dream of the person you want to be—not of how rich or powerful or famous that future self is, but about the life you will lead and work you will do to serve and enrich others, leaving behind a world that is better than you found it. (2/4)

My “How to Build a Life” column this week @TheAtlantic is about disappointment and uncertainty during the shutdown, and how we can deal with them to be happier in a fairly simple, straightforward way. (1/7) theatlantic.com/family/archive… Are you spending a lot of time ruminating about what you are missing during this shutdown? Spending hours reading about the crisis and what experts are saying we can expect? You might be making a couple of mental errors that making the crisis harder to deal with. (2/7)

Last month I walked the last 160 km of the ancient Camino de Santiago in northern Spain with my wife (aka la Catalana) over the course of a week. Here are a few photos for anyone interested. (1/11) By the end of the first day I was still pretty fresh, but that wouldn’t last very long. (2/11)