The Art Of Being Happy

You already know life is finite, but most days we live like joy can wait. We’re wired to postpone happiness until some future milestone finally gives us permission to feel good, and that belief quietly steals the only time we actually have: right now. We push past surface-level positivity and get practical about the art of being happy, treating happiness as a trainable skill instead of a lucky mood.

We unpack what happiness really means using clear definitions and memorable quotes, then connect it to measurable outcomes: better physical health, greater longevity, stronger relationships, and even higher productivity at work. There’s also a story from a windowless office that proves a point most self-help books miss: a small moment of shared laughter can crack open a heavy day and change how people relate, collaborate, and cope.

From there, we lay out science-backed strategies drawn from positive psychology and behavioral research: gratitude that actually sticks, savoring good moments without waiting for the other shoe to drop, and self-compassion that replaces constant self-criticism. We talk relationships, kindness, and how to show up when people share good news, plus the biology of happiness through exercise, endorphins, and food choices that support mood. We also explore attention restoration theory and why time in nature can restore focus through “soft fascination,” then close with the deeper layer: meaning and purpose as the backbone of lasting well-being.

If you want practical habits for happiness, mental health, and daily resilience, hit play, subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review with the one change you’re making this week.

Transcript

Time Is Finite Choose Joy

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We're all living on a timeline with a fixed end date. But how much of that time are we actually spending present in our own joy? Most of us treat happiness like a destination we'll reach once the house is paid off, the kids are grown, or the body feels perfect. But what if happiness isn't a trophy at the finish line, but a skill you practice while you're still in the race? I'm Corey Kennard, and today on Due to Expire, we're breaking down the art of being happy. We're moving past the surface level positivity and diving into the daily habits, the mental shifts, and the biological hacks that allow you to thrive right now before your clock runs out. Now, let's grow.energy. That's no negative, all one phrase, dot energy. So what is happiness? The Dalai Lama says happiness is not something ready-made, it comes from your own actions. Sidney J. Harris said happiness is a direction and not a place. Charles Spurgeon said, it is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy that makes happiness. Walt Disney went on to say that happiness is a state of mind. It's just according to the way you look at things. And finally, Charles Schultz put happiness in this way. He said, Happiness is a warm puppy. As we examine these quotes, we can see that happiness is a complex emotion that is difficult to define. However, most people would agree that happiness is a state of well-being that is characterized by positive emotions, positive engagement with others or events, and discovering meaning in life and having loving relationships. Sometimes the best way to understand something is to discover its benefits. So what are the benefits of happiness? There are many benefits when it comes to being happy. You see, happiness can provide improved physical health because you feel better overall when you're happy, right? It also can provide increased longevity. Many studies have found a significant correlation between higher levels of happiness, life satisfaction, and positive effect with a reduced risk of mortality and increased lifespan, as studied and noted by the UC Irvine School of Social Ecology. Happiness can also build stronger relationships. You do know that positive and happy people do not necessarily gravitate towards negative and unhappy people.

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Right?

Joy Meets Henry In The Office

Mindset Habits That Lift Mood

Relationships Kindness And Listening

Exercise Food And Outdoor Time

Nature And Attention Restoration Theory

Meaning Purpose And Final Reflection

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It's like I'm happy, but I want to be around somebody who's extremely negative. Life doesn't work that way. You bond better with people who think like you and have the same set of social values that you have. Surprisingly, happiness also offers greater productivity. A research conducted by Oxford University's business school found that happy workers were 13% more productive. They achieved this by making more calls per hour and converting more calls into sales. Now, another study from the University of Warwick showed that happiness led to a 12% increase in productivity, while unhappy workers were 10% less productive. So allow me to share a story with you about how happiness can impact you at work. There's a person that we'll call Joy. Okay, so Joy, ironically, right? Joy worked in the perpetual filing department of her company, a windowless room where the hum of the ancient server was the closest thing to a natural sound. Her days were predictable. She had a cycle of alphabetizing, cross-referencing, and the occasional paper cut. Happiness felt like a distant rumor, something whispered about in the brightly lit break room by the marketing team. One Tuesday, a new intern named Henry arrived. He whistled while sorting, offered genuine smiles, and even brought in a small, struggling potted sunflower for his corner of the desk. Joy found it irritating at first. How could he be so cheerful amidst the beige monotony of this job? Then, one particularly dreary afternoon, the server sputtered and died, plunging the department into unexpected silence and a backlog of unsorted files. Panic rippled through the room. But Henry, instead of joining the collective groan, pulled out a deck of cards. Anyone for a quick game of crazy eights while we wait? Hesitantly, a few colleagues joined in. Joy, surprised by her own impulse, found herself sitting across from Henry with a worn hand of cards in her hand. Laughter, a sound rarely heard in the perpetual filing department, began to bubble up. The game was silly. The stakes were non existent. But for that brief interlude, the oppressive weight of the work lifted. When the server finally whirred back to life, a different atmosphere filled the room. The tension had dissipated, replaced by a shared, lighthearted memory. Joy noticed something different though. When they returned to the files, the work didn't feel quite so soul-crushing. The shared laughter had created a small crack in the wall of monotony, letting in a sliver of something brighter. They worked with a renewed, albeit subtle energy. They even helped each other find misplaced files with a touch more patience. Henry Sunflower, stubbornly reaching for the artificial light, seemed a little taller the next day. Joy still alphabetized and cross-referenced, but now sometimes she caught herself humming a little tune. She realized that happiness wasn't a distant rumor confined to other departments. It was a small seed that could be planted even in the most unlikely of places. And its blossoming, however subtle, made the work and the day a little easier to bear. It wasn't about escaping the filing, but finding small pockets of happiness within it. And surprisingly, those pockets made the filing get done just a little bit faster. Now, with these types of benefits, as it relates to happiness, we all should want as much happiness as possible in this life. This ultimately, though, begs the question: how can we understand and apply the science of happiness to our everyday lives in an effort to increase our happiness? First, let me say that's a great question. There are many factors that contribute to our happiness, and research by the way of utilizing positive psychology offers several insights and actionable strategies. So, here are some ways to increase your happiness as I draw from scientific findings and expert advice. Number one, you can increase your happiness by focusing on your mindset and your habits. Like, for instance, practicing gratitude. Regularly acknowledging the good things in your life, no matter how small, can significantly boost your mood. So grab your journal and write down or mentally list things and people you're thankful for. Next, cultivating a positive outlook can increase your happiness. You need to challenge negative thoughts and try to find the silver lining in difficult situations. Focus on the present moment rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Also, savoring positive experiences can have a great impact on increasing your happiness. So take the time to fully enjoy pleasant moments, engaging all your senses. Sometimes we just look past those moments to say, wow, this is great, but something negative is going to come soon. So I need to brace myself for that. And therefore, you don't enjoy the moment that you're actually in. And then also practice self-compassion. Please do this. Treat yourself with the same kindness and understanding you would offer a friend when you make mistakes or face challenges. Avoid harsh self-criticism. Some of us have a habit of putting ourselves down far too much. Stop it. You are the most valuable person on earth. So why would you treat yourself otherwise? The second way of looking at increasing happiness is to nurture your relationships. We need to build and maintain strong social connections. Research consistently shows that quality relationships are a key predictor of happiness and well-being. So invest time and effort in connecting with family, with friends, and your community. And then practice kindness and generosity. Helping others has been shown to increase your own happiness. Engage in behaviors like volunteering or simply doing small tasks of kindness. I wouldn't call them tasks, but acts. Let's go with that word. That's a better word. Acts of kindness. It's really hard to get mad or even remain upset when you experience the beauty of helping others. And then learn to respond actively and constructively if you want to increase happiness. When others share good news, don't hate. Show genuine enthusiasm and support. Learn to practice empathy and mindful listening in your interactions. Now, the third point that I want to make here is an essential one as it relates to increasing your happiness. And that's taking care of your physical health. So I need you to get off the couch and engage in regular physical activity. What's the benefit of that, you may say? Well, exercise releases endorphins which have mood-boosting effects. If you want to feel better, get up and move to change your mood. Find physical activities you enjoy and make them a regular part of what you do. Could be walking, could be swimming, could be just cutting the lawn, whatever it is. I don't know. But make sure it's physical. Engage your body in activities because we all want those mood-boosting endorphins, right? Physical activity will lead to hunger. And eating a healthy diet or nourishing your body with nutritious foods can positively affect your energy and mood as well. Fast food, packaged snacks, chips, cookies, crackers, processed meats, sugary cereals, shall I go on, frozen meals, instant noodles, commercially baked goods, all of these things, right, that we love to engage in are not nutritionally good for us. These foods often have high, unhealthy fat content. Added sugars, salt, and artificial ingredients are all a part of these while being low in essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They can promote inflammation in the body and the brain and disrupt the gut microbiome and cause rapid blood sugar spikes and crashes, all of which can negatively affect mood regulation. And then next, spend some time outdoors. And we talked about physical activity, but you can work out in your home, right? But spend some time outdoors. Connecting with nature has been shown to reduce stress and increase happiness. Well, how does that happen? There is a fascinating theory that I love called the attention restoration theory, or art. Hence the art of being happy. The attention restoration theory is a theory developed by Stephen and Rachel Kaplan, and it is a psychological theory that proposes that spending time in and interacting with nature can help to restore depleted attentional resources, thereby improving focus and cognitive function. It suggests that urban environments require directed attention, which can lead to mental fatigue. Nature, on the other hand, engages soft fascination, a less demanding form of attention that allows our minds to rest and restore. Soft fascination refers to aspects of the environment that effortlessly draw our attention without requiring conscious effort. Examples include the gentle movement of leaves, the sound of a stream, or the patterns in nature. These elements are interesting enough to hold our attention, but not so overwhelming or demanding that they cause further fatigue. And finally, my friends, I want you to seek to find meaning and purpose. Most people are not happy because they feel like their life has no meaning or no purpose at all. Connecting to something larger than yourself, whether through work, spirituality, or community involvement, can provide a deep sense of satisfaction that can ultimately lead to lifelong happiness. So as we come to the end of this podcast, it's important to remember that happiness is a journey and not a destination. And what works for one person may not work for another. So I want you to experiment with these suggestions in this podcast and find what brings you genuine joy, genuine contentment, and genuine happiness in your life. The next thing I want you to do is begin to implement whatever works for you in your daily routine and go after it like your life depends on it. Because it does. So right now, reflect on your life. Are you prioritizing what truly matters? Are you acting with intention or letting time slip away? Since we are all due to expire, the question is what will you do with your life between now and then? Thank you for listening. I'm your host, Corey Kennard.