Self Improvement

What makes for a good life? Is it pleasure or enjoying the passage of time, as James Taylor once sang? Or is it more about living life with purpose and contributing to other people’s well-being?

People often think you always have to make a major change to have a better life. But that’s not true. Small actions create a bigger impact on our overall well-being and happiness. Look, life is never easy.

If you struggle to find the motivation to clean up, you're not alone—that's why there are so many different techniques out there that involve giving yourself a little reward when you finish up a hard task.

As a certified mediator, I spend hours a day peace-making for couples, families, and companies. However, as a life coach, I teach people the verbiage that creates peace so they can avoid arguments and mediation.

Chitchatting about the weather or exchanging niceties may feel superficial and a waste of time. But if done right, small talk might help you with your career. Researchers who have studied small talk say there’s big benefit in regularly engaging in casual conversation.

The question I feel as though, over the years, I’ve allowed setbacks to knock down all my pillars of happiness and now feel I just live among the ruins.

I wholeheartedly believe that author profiles are an important and worthy part of book coverage. This may sound like a shruggy opinion at best, but depending on who you ask, it’s a controversial take.

Mindfulness is everywhere. Everyone from Gwyneth Paltrow to the US military has extolled the virtues of this ancient spiritual practice. But what, exactly, is mindfulness? And can it help us deal with the stress of everyday life?

This is part of Wedge Issues, a pop-up advice column about politics, running now through the election. Submit a question here—it’s anonymous! A common refrain I hear from acquaintances when talking about politicians like Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton is “I just don’t like her.