Live Happy Now

We’ve all heard about the principles of visualization and manifestation, but to many of us, it might sound a little too good to be true. Today, we’re talking to a neuroscientist who guides us through the science of visualization and tells us how it can help us reach our goals and live happier lives. Dr. Tara Swart is a neuroscientist, psychiatrist and senior lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. She works with top executives all over the world to help them achieve mental resilience and peak brain performance. Her new book, The Source: The Secrets of the Universe, the Science of the Brain, shows how you can actively change the way your mind works to train it for happiness. In this episode, you'll learn: Why it’s critical to take control over what we’re thinking about. How we can make dramatic, positive changes by changing how we think. The science behind vision boards — and how to put it into practice.

This week, you can enjoy a whirlwind trip of happiness around the globe! When journalist Helen Russell moved to Denmark in 2012, she wanted to learn more about why the country ranked so high on the happiness scale. That search led her to write the book, The Year of Living Danishly, and opened the door to studying happiness. With her second book, The Atlas of Happiness: The Global Secrets of How to Be Happy, she looks at happiness practices around the world and makes some interesting discoveries about how we’re different from other countries in our pursuit of happiness—and how we’re the same. She’s here to talk about how happiness differs from one country to the next, what we can learn from other countries and in what ways we’re all the same in our pursuit of happiness.  In this episode, you'll learn: Why happiness practices are so different from one country to the next. Why different perceptions of happiness affect the way we practice well-being. How learning about happiness practices from other countries

If you’ve ever watched elite athletes and wondered what makes them so different, we’ve got great news for you: Today’s guest can answer that question. What’s even better is that she can tell you how you can apply some of the same winning techniques to your own life. Annie Vernon is a two-time World Champion, Olympic silver medalist with the Great Britain Rowing Team and a two-time Olympian who has learned that the secret to winning doesn’t just lie in physical prowess, but is just as dependent upon the right mindset. In her book, Mind Games: Determination, Doubt and Lucky Socks: An Insider’s Guide to the Psychology of Elite Athletes, she explores how the way we think changes our outcomes. So, whether your playing field is a boardroom, a classroom or your kid’s playroom, she’s here to tell you how changing your mindset can improve your game.   In this episode, you’ll learn: Why training your mind is just as important as physical training. Why self-awareness is so important to your mindset. How small chan

If you feel like the world is moving a whole lot faster these days, you’re not alone. We’re consuming information at an unprecedented rate and living in an “always on” world. It’s no secret that this high-tech world is taking a toll on our health, our relationships and our overall well-being. Today’s guest, Pete Dunlap, is leading the charge for what he calls “humane technology use.” His book, Digital Detangler: A Guide to Mindful Technology Use won the Next Generation Indie Book Award and the Independent Press Award in 2019 for its thoughtful examination of technology and his insight on how we can better use it. He also created Digital Detangler Family Services, which helps families address the crisis of tech addiction together.  In this episode, you'll learn: How technology affects our mental health. What causes technology addictions. How families can address technology overuse.

If you feel like the world is moving a whole lot faster these days, you’re not alone. We’re consuming information at an unprecedented rate and living in an “always on” world. It’s no secret that this high-tech world is taking a toll on our health, our relationships and our overall well-being. Today’s guest, Jeff Bethke, looks at how this fast pace is zapping our sense of purpose and meaning. His new book, To Hell With the Hustle: Reclaiming Your Life in an Overworked, Overspent and Overconnected World, looks at how we can shift our focus from our online world to our inward life and find greater purpose and meaning. In this podcast, you’ll learn: How too much time online affects your sense of purpose. Why saying “no” is so powerful. How a Tech Manifesto can help you control your time online.

Bullying has become such an issue in today’s world that October has been named National Bullying Prevention Month. And while we normally associate bullying with school children, the fact is that many adults are being bullied at work every day. This week’s guest, Dr. Britt Andreatta, is an expert on the science of teams and author of the book, Wired to Connect. She’s developed safety tips to make sure all employees are working together to eliminate bullying in the workplace She also shares information on how and why bullying happens at work—and what to do about it. In this podcast, you’ll learn: Where workplace bullies come from. How to make sure others aren’t being bullied. The high cost of unresolved workplace bullying.

If you’ve ever struggled with forgiving someone, or forgiving yourself, you don’t want to miss what this week’s guest has to say abut it. Stacy Kaiser, a licensed psychotherapist, relationship expert, author and frequent Live Happy Now guest, has great insight on how forgiveness and self-forgiveness affect our overall well-being. But she doesn’t just tell us how much we need it in our lives; she gives us actionable advice for forgiving others, forgiving ourselves and discovering greater happiness. In this podcast, you’ll learn: Why forgiveness is essential to your overall well-being. What forgiveness really means. Steps you can take to forgive others as well as yourself.

Giving our kids positive messages is important, but sometimes it’s difficult to do in a tumultuous world. The guests on this episode are not only giving kids a new way to look at the world, but putting it to a great beat that parents love, too. After becoming parents themselves, long-time friends Anne Montone and Jennifer Cook used music as a way to teach and explain things to their children. The two musically inclined friends then created the singing duo Again Again, and their debut full-length album, “Listen. Love. Repeat.” is filled with positive, family-friendly messages for our time. In this episode, you'll learn: Why music is so effective as a way to learn. How music can be used to let kids know they matter. How they created music that parents and kids can enjoy together.

Habits: We’ve all got ‘em … and we all wonder why we aren’t better at changing them. This week’s guest has the answer to that question.  Wendy Wood has spent 30 years researching human behavior and is the leading expert on habits and change. Her new book, Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick, helps explain how we form habits, what habits really are and why so much of what we’ve believed about changing habits is wrong. In this episode, you’ll learn: What is a habit? How long it really takes to change a habit Why creating the right environment is critical to successfully changing habits

If you think that conflict is always bad for your relationship, think again. This episode’s guests are CrisMarie Campbell and Susan Clarke, authors of the book, “The Beauty of Conflict for Couples.” As therapists, they’ve helped hundreds of couples reconcile their differences and get their relationships back on track—but they say it’s not about romance. They teach couples that the things we argue about often have the potential to pave the way to greater intimacy…if we learn how to use it properly. In this podcast, you’ll learn: Why conflict can be the secret ingredient to reaching relationship goals. How to use the 5/5/5 Rule of Fighting. Why the small conflicts, not the big blowups, are relationship-killers.

Tiffany Shlain founded Character Day in 2013 as a way to recognize and celebrate the importance of character strengths. This year, she’s combining the celebration of Character Day on September 27-28 with the release of her new book, 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week. For Character Day, she is encouraging everyone to take the day off from their screens, following the Jewish tradition of Shabbat and using it to find more time, connection and well-being. In this episode, you’ll learn: How to get your family to participate in a weekly Tech Shabbat. Why taking a break from technology improves your well-being. How to implement your Tech Shabbat as part of Character Day.

We all have something we’d like to improve about ourselves, and this is the month to do it! September is Self-Improvement Month and that inspired Live Happy Now host Paula Felps and Live Happy editor Chris Libby to dig into the Live Happy Now archives and find their seven favorite podcasts for improving your life. Their seven tips are: Embrace something you’re not good at. Practice more self-compassion. Get organized. Hone your resilience skills. Make a comeback. Be more playful. Practice kindness.

We’ve all heard that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But today’s guest actually wrote the book on how to make that lemonade. Zack Friedman is the CEO and founder of Make Lemonade, a personal finance company that empowers individuals to live a better financial life. His new book, The Lemonade Life: How to Fuel Success, Create Happiness and Conquer Anything, looks at the five internal switches that we can learn to flip to find our purpose, maximize our potential, and—you got it—be happier. He talks with us about those switches, how we can flip them and what it will do for us. In this episode, you’ll learn: The difference between The Lemon Life and the Lemonade Life. What the 5 switches are, and what they can do for you. Why true success depends on finding purpose and meaning.

You’ve heard the old saying, “Kill them with kindness” – but what if the opposite was true? Kelli Harding, MD, MPH, is assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and author of the new book, The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness. Her book provides fascinating evidence of how kindness, compassion and human connection affect the body in profound ways—and how they can improve both our physical and mental health. In this episode, you’ll learn: Our day-to-day social environment is key to our health and extends far beyond the doctor’s visits. Health is about creating positive connections to those around you and learning to navigate challenges and stress. To do what you can to create kindness for others.

While we don’t think much about them, our brainwaves are always busy—and they play a huge role in our well-being. When brainwaves get out of balance, it affects our sleep, our health and our relationships. Dr. Patrick Porter joins us this week to talk about how brainwaves influence our happiness and tells us some of the ways we can help keep them balanced. In this episode, you’ll learn: How connecting with nature (grounding) can help you find balance. What lack of sleep does to our brainwaves. What biohacking is and how you can use it for your own well-being.

It’s a brand-new season of Live Happy Now, and what better way to kick it off than to sit down with Live Happy CEO Deborah Heisz and talk about what’s new in the world of positive psychology? Deborah recently returned from the International Positive Psychology Association’s Sixth World Congress in Australia. In this episode, she talks with host Paula Felps about how positive psychology is changing – and how the way the world embraces it is changing, too.

If you’re a regular listener of Live Happy Now, you already know that we’re big fans of nature. While we talk a lot about the value of getting out in nature, this week’s guest is all about bringing nature inside. Summer Rayne Oakes is an environmental scientist and sustainability expert who focuses on health and wellness. Her YouTube channel and website are is designed to help people who live in the city become more attuned to nature, and her new book, How to Make Your Plant Love You, looks at how to bring nature inside for greater happiness and well-being. This week, Summer talks about what houseplants do for our well-being and how we can live in nature…even when we’re indoors.  In this episode, you’ll learn: The physical, emotional and mental benefits of taking care of plants indoors. The best plants for beginners and the do’s and don'ts of watering your plants. How to become more attuned to nature in the city.

If you’re an introvert, you know just how terrifying it can be to do things like talk to strangers, throw a dinner party or—gulp—public speaking. For journalist Jessica Pan, overcoming life as a shy introvert meant going to extremes and living as an extrovert for an entire year. With the help of “extrovert mentors,” Jessica tackled a daunting to-do list and then chronicled it in the hilarious but heartfelt new book, Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come: One Introvert’s Year of Saying Yes. In this episode, she joins Live Happy Now host Paula Felps to talk about what made her want to overcome her introverted ways and how it has changed her life. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why saying ‘yes’ can change your life. Why living outside of your comfort zone is good for you. That it is never too late to create positive habits.

You’ve heard the phrase, “You’re not getting older, you’re getting better”—but how often do you believe that? After hearing Louise Aronson, M.D., you might realize that the old adage is true. As a geriatrician, writer and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, Louise gives us a completely new perspective on aging with her new book, Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life. In it, she describes how we can not only change our attitudes toward aging in others, but begin to anticipate and reframe the final decades of our lives.    In this episode, you’ll learn: The importance of knowing what you want next in life. How to start planning for happier elderhood—at any stage in life. Why elderhood is the perfect time to discover new passions.

We all have people in our lives that we love and appreciate, but have you ever thought about how good it is for you to show appreciation for others? A new study published in the Journal of Happiness Studies shows that learning how to show appreciation for others can help you feel less stressed and can even reduce symptoms of depression. Live Happy editor Chris Libby joins us for this podcast to talk about why appreciation is so beneficial—and how you can get more of it in your life. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why appreciation can help improve our home and work life. How to show more appreciation for others. Developing appreciation as a character strength.