Patricia Mou

Alright then, if you can't pursue happiness, how can you make yourself a fertile place for happiness to grow of its own? Happiness being the most subjective of states, I can only speak for myself. I have found four qualities that I believe naturally enrich the ecology of joy. When I'm capable of sustaining them, they sustain me and continue to do... See more

The apparent happiness of Africans, against all horror, seems to derive from a sense of connectedness, or as the Zulu put it, "ubunto." This word is often translated to mean community, but one of them gave me what I think is a more accurate definition: "I am because we are; we are because I am."

Most of us, however, develop a portfolio of meaning – we have multiple sources of it in our lives, and cannot in fact derive it from only one source any more than we can be healthy on a diet of bread and water.

Working together can also be an extremely enriching and sobering experience. It is enriching because people learn, gain traction, motivation and a sense of meaning. It’s sobering because it provides a real-world test to the quality and strength of the coordination fabric your group has been building, stripping away the relative comfort of... See more

6. Antifragility. Do not be broken by this chaos and disorder; rather, adopt a mentality that you will benefit from it.

Champion myself and others: I hold a high standard for myself and others. I know that we are capable of being great, doing great things, and staying true to ourselves. I compassionately and courageously remind myself and others of our truest, boldest, most authentic visions/dreams, even and especially when it's uncomfortable. I challenge us to step... See more

A considerable body of research has suggested that religious service attendance powerfully affects health and also affects other aspects of flourishing such as meaning in life, character, and close social relationships (Koenig, King, and Carson, 2012; Li et al., 2016ab; VanderWeele et al., 2016, 2017; VanderWeele, 2017abc).

Research has indicated that forgiving others for wrongs they have done to you is generally associated with better mental health, greater hope, and possibly better physical health (Wade, Hoyt, Kidwell, and Worthington, 2014; Toussaint et al., 2015; VanderWeele, 2018).