This One Hack Will Unlock Your Happier Life

Feeling stressed, depressed, or just generally unhealthy? Consider the last time you went outside. In The Nature Fix, Florence Williams contends that humans have an innate affinity for nature, and thus the antidote to many of our physical and mental ailments is a good dose of the outdoors. From the practice of forest bathing in Japan to horticulture therapy in Sweden and river rafting in Idaho, Williams explores how researchers are tapping into the healing power of nature—and what those of us living in the urban jungle can do to reap its benefits.

Our guide begins by discussing how our lives and health have changed as we’ve increasingly become a city-dwelling species. Then, we’ll explore the research-backed benefits of being outdoors and take a look at how different countries are supporting their citizens’ health by giving them better access to nature. We’ll conclude with Williams’s prescription for using nature to improve our well-being. We’ll also include other experts’ and authors’ insights into the relationship between nature and health.

If you want to heal your body, you have to cultivate a healthy mind. In Mind Over Medicine, Lissa Rankin explores the mind-body connection and reveals our innate ability to promote self-healing. By proliferating positive beliefs and designing a fulfilling lifestyle, she says you can create conditions for healing relaxation and whole-body health.

Rankin is a physician, author, and speaker. Using her own chronic illnesses as a catalyst, she expanded her modern, Western healing repertoire to include holistic medicine after researching mindset and lifestyle factors on spontaneous remissions. She now teaches that optimal health involves more than just prescription medicine and physical treatments—it also depends on the quality of our beliefs, our relationships, and our jobs.

In this guide, we examine Rankin’s principles for healing and compare them to similar books like When the Body Says No and The Upside of Stress.

Happiness is more than just a positive state of mind—it’s a state of being that enhances your health, strengthens your relationships, and fuels both your creativity and productivity. However, though many people are aware of these benefits and try to feel happier, their efforts often fail to create consistent, long-term happiness.

In The How of Happiness, Sonja Lyubomirsky—psychology professor and recipient of the Templeton Positive Psychology Prize—addresses this challenge. Drawing from her extensive research as well as insights from leading scientists in the positive psychology field, she unpacks the factors that fuel happiness and provides practical strategies to nurture and sustain it.

In this guide, we’ll explore Lyubomirsky's thoughts on what contributes to long-term happiness and how you can amplify it in your life. Additionally, we’ll supplement her ideas with psychological research and actionable methods from other self-improvement authors and practitioners.

Feeling stressed, depressed, or just generally unhealthy? Consider the last time you went outside. In The Nature Fix, Florence Williams contends that humans have an innate affinity for nature, and thus the antidote to many of our physical and mental ailments is a good dose of the outdoors. From the practice of forest bathing in Japan to horticulture therapy in Sweden and river rafting in Idaho, Williams explores how researchers are tapping into the healing power of nature—and what those of us living in the urban jungle can do to reap its benefits.

Our guide begins by discussing how our lives and health have changed as we’ve increasingly become a city-dwelling species. Then, we’ll explore the research-backed benefits of being outdoors and take a look at how different countries are supporting their citizens’ health by giving them better access to nature. We’ll conclude with Williams’s prescription for using nature to improve our well-being. We’ll also include other experts’ and authors’ insights into the relationship between nature and health.

Do you feel overwhelmed by assignments, meetings, and obligations? Are you constantly interrupted by email, social media, and the urge to follow every headline? Does it feel like there’s never enough time in the day, and none for what you really want to do?

In Make Time, Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky argue that we live in an information landscape designed to steal our time and attention. In order to escape from all of our modern distractions, you must be proactive to take back your time. The authors offer tips, tricks, and hacks to reclaim control of your day-to-day life and make time for the things that matter most.

This guide provides an overview of the lifestyle adjustments Knapp and Zeratsky recommend while examining their benefits and practicality. We also explore research on the effects of the modern world on the mind and body and how other experts on motivation and time management suggest you refocus your energy and your life.

Most people think that happiness comes after success, and that success comes after hard work. But we’ve had the equation all wrong: Happiness isn’t the result of success—it’s the cause of it. In The Happiness Advantage, author Shawn Achor introduces this formula for success, based on research in neuroscience and the relatively new field of positive psychology. Achor offers insight as a leading expert on the connection between happiness and performance and the founder of a research and consulting firm that optimizes people’s achievement through positive psychology.

This book explains the benefits of happiness—from increased creativity to improved health—and how a positive mindset can change your personal and professional life. In addition, Achor provides strategies for adopting a positive mindset, remaining optimistic in the face of adversity, and raising your happiness baseline.

Feeling stressed, depressed, or just generally unhealthy? Consider the last time you went outside. In The Nature Fix, Florence Williams contends that humans have an innate affinity for nature, and thus the antidote to many of our physical and mental ailments is a good dose of the outdoors. From the practice of forest bathing in Japan to horticulture therapy in Sweden and river rafting in Idaho, Williams explores how researchers are tapping into the healing power of nature—and what those of us living in the urban jungle can do to reap its benefits.

Our guide begins by discussing how our lives and health have changed as we’ve increasingly become a city-dwelling species. Then, we’ll explore the research-backed benefits of being outdoors and take a look at how different countries are supporting their citizens’ health by giving them better access to nature. We’ll conclude with Williams’s prescription for using nature to improve our well-being. We’ll also include other experts’ and authors’ insights into the relationship between nature and health.

You may have learned that a chemical imbalance in the brain causes depression, but that’s only part of the story. Biology lays the foundation, but trusted sources like the World Health Organization agree that your life experiences and the society you live in are the biggest causes of depression.

In Lost Connections, journalist Johann Hari investigates the psychological and social factors that contribute to mental illness (which he calls “disconnections”), as well as innovative social and environmental treatments for depression (or “reconnections”). Learn the questionable history of antidepressants, why Amish people hardely ever get depressed, and how mushrooms might be the antidepressants of the future.

If you want to heal your body, you have to cultivate a healthy mind. In Mind Over Medicine, Lissa Rankin explores the mind-body connection and reveals our innate ability to promote self-healing. By proliferating positive beliefs and designing a fulfilling lifestyle, she says you can create conditions for healing relaxation and whole-body health.

Rankin is a physician, author, and speaker. Using her own chronic illnesses as a catalyst, she expanded her modern, Western healing repertoire to include holistic medicine after researching mindset and lifestyle factors on spontaneous remissions. She now teaches that optimal health involves more than just prescription medicine and physical treatments—it also depends on the quality of our beliefs, our relationships, and our jobs.

In this guide, we examine Rankin’s principles for healing and compare them to similar books like When the Body Says No and The Upside of Stress.