The New Happy

We use art and science to help you find happiness. Join our community of over one million people around the world.
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02/22/2026

Our society defines a ‘good’ relationship as the relationship that lasts the longest, even if both parties are unhappy and unfulfilled in it. With a bit of distance from our conditioning, we can see that this is both illogical and harmful. First of all, there’s no law that says a ‘good’ relationship has to last forever. Second, how can anything be good when it’s creating pain for everyone involved?

A good relationship is, at its core, something that helps those involved to grow, find joy, and become better people. Sometimes, these relationships last for a long time. Sometimes, these relationships are briefer. Either way, they can be good ones.

02/18/2026

Experiencing or witnessing suffering has the ability to change us in one of two ways. It can make us more compassionate, more accepting, and more courageous versions of ourselves.

Or it can do the opposite, turning us into cynical, hardened, apathetic versions of ourselves.

You must fight this urge and instead, hold onto your humanity, for that is what is most needed in the world right now.

02/17/2026

You might be feeling down because things aren’t going the way you want to. You might be looking back on changes that you made “too late” and beating yourself up for it. You might be wondering why it feels so hard to change, even when you know you need to.

Here’s the truth: change is hard, it takes time, and it requires courage.

It’s hard to accept that something isn’t working-especially when it’s something that you really, really wanted to work.

It takes time to come to terms with the difference between your hoped-for outcome and reality. Often, the only way to do this is to go through the experience again and again, until you finally truly see: no, this is not working or you.

And once you have realized that you need to make a change, it requires courage to actually do it and patience to actually see the impact in your life.

Be gentle with yourself as you transform.

02/12/2026

No one owns the world: there’s no one person who will save us, or make it all better, or fix our problems.

We share the world: that means we also share the responsibility of making it better.

It’s on us. To come together and, every day, nudge the world in a better direction. To create a world of hope, compassion, and acceptance. And there’s so many ways to do that.

We can show up for each other when we’re struggling.
We can reach out and lift other people up.
We can speak up.
We can hold those in power accountable.
We can fight for progress.
We can refuse to accept the status quo.
We can make brave and hopeful choices.
We can cultivate love in our hearts, and share it with those who we meet every day.
We can make decisions with positive ripple effects.
We can give more than we take.
We can seek out beauty and love and joy, to remind us what we’re preserving.

02/04/2026

t some point this week, you’re going to have an emotional reaction to an event in your life. That’s okay. That’s what humans do: we feel things.

But what humans can also do, though, is learn about how to respond to these feelings in a wiser, more compassionate way, one that both helps us and helps others to experience more happiness.

It’s a simple two-step process: 1) Honor and accept your reaction; and 2) Look at your reaction from other perspectives. For more, download our free New Happy stress guide, with 60 science backed strategies to help you feel better now: thenewhappy.com/stress-guide

02/02/2026

“I’m too old.”
“I can’t try that now.”
“I missed my chance.”

Stop telling yourself these stories. It’s not too late for you. At any moment, you can make a new choice—a choice that has the power to change everything. And it starts by saying to yourself:

“I’m ready to do this.”
“I can try it and see what happens.”
“This moment is my chance.”

01/29/2026

Everyone feels discouraged sometimes.

But that feeling of discouragement is not a sign that you should give up—it’s a sign that you should ask for support from someone who believes in you!

You need someone to remind you of who you really are. Of your unique strengths and of your talents. Of your hopes and passions. Of the reason that you started pursuing this goal in the first place.

Don’t give up—ask for support instead.

01/28/2026

There’s a sequence you’ve seen play out millions of times in your own life: An event or thought occurs → An emotion results.

For example:
Your friends leave you out → you feel rejected.
You lose your job → you feel afraid.
You are criticized → you feel shame.
You witness devastating world events → you feel helpless.

When we witness someone else who is suffering, we make one mistake again and again. We judge that arrow: why an event led to an emotion. Here’s what that sounds like:
“I wouldn’t react like that.”
“Why hasn’t she gotten over that yet?”
“She should just be grateful things aren’t worse.”
“This shouldn’t make you so upset.”
“You don’t have anything to be depressed or anxious about.”
“Compared to other people, your pain is not a big deal. Snap out of it.”

Judgment will never help alleviate pain; only empathy and compassion can do that. To tap into these qualities, we need to focus on the emotion that the other person is feeling.

Because the truth is that, while our experiences vary so greatly, our emotions are strikingly similar to one another. Pain is pain is pain; jealousy is jealousy is jealousy; anger is anger is anger. Believe it or not, your worst enemy has felt the grief you’re feeling now. Your horrible boss has been consumed with anxiety, too. We can bond over our shared experience of the emotion without ever judging why they feel this way or don’t feel that way.

01/27/2026

Have you ever ended your day by saying these words to yourself?

Perhaps you feel that you wasted your day because you’re comparing yourself to external Old Happy standards that tell you that happiness comes from being productive, achieving more and more, and winning in life’s competition.

We’ve been told these things will make us happy — so they become our priority. Unfortunately, they don’t, and their never-ending hunger for more, more, and more leaves us constantly sprinting towards the next achievement, missing the possibilities for happiness that do exist in every day.

It’s time to start evaluating our days by a new standard. To embrace a New Happy life that’s grounded in authenticity, connection, and contributing. To build days of joy, peace, and love. That’s what will bring us the happiness we are looking for.

01/25/2026

One of the most important things that you can do to live a happy life: define your core values.

Your core values are like your compass, guiding you towards what matters most to you and bringing you joy along the way. And if you don’t know your values, you will be far more vulnerable to Old Happy’s values, which don’t help you to experience well-being and do harm to the world.

To discover yours, you can use the free The New Happy Values Wheel. In just a few minutes, you’ll learn so much about your self and discover your own core values. (It’s a great exercise to do as a family, in a partnership, or with friends, too!) Download it at www.thenewhappy.com/values-wheel

Can’t wait to hear your core 5!

01/20/2026

Sentences that we should all be comfortable saying:
“I don’t know enough about that yet, can you tell me more?”
“I’ve changed my mind on that topic.”
“I was wrong. Thanks for helping me to learn something new.”

01/19/2026

You are not supposed to have your life figured out by 30. Or 40. Or 50. Or 60. Or 70. Or... any age at all.

If you have your life figured out, that would mean that you are no longer living. Because you are always changing, your life is always changing, and the world is always changing. These three layers are constantly interacting with one another, creating new and different dynamics every single day. Figuring out how to navigate them is our life's work, an ongoing task that makes life both beautiful and challenging at the same time.

Life would be a lot better for all of us if we stopped trying to optimize it, master it, or figure it all out, and instead, started trying to embrace it—life, and its beautiful ever-changing nature.

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