Live Happy Now

This week on Live Happy Now, Paula Felps sits down with University of Virginia professor and author Leidy Klotz to explore a topic we rarely think about: how the spaces around us are quietly shaping our well-being. He explains why our homes, workplaces, and everyday environments can either nourish or drain our basic psychological needs for agency, competence, and connection. From choosing where you sit to spark creativity to reclaiming small freedoms in spaces you can’t control, Leidy shows how simple shifts in how we interact with our environments can profoundly change how we feel. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why your physical spaces influence your happiness more than you realize — and how they feed (or starve) your core psychological needs. How to use your surroundings intentionally to boost creativity, strengthen family connection, and reclaim a sense of control — even in places you can’t redesign. A simple practice for experiencing more awe in your daily life by noticing and revisiting the spaces that