Sonja Lyubomirsky

Exercise may very well be the most effective instant happiness booster of all activities,

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

It is equally important to investigate wellness as it is to study misery.

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

Forgiving people are less likely to be hateful, depressed, hostile, anxious, angry, and neurotic.

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

Find a happy person, and you will find a project.

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

...The more a person is inclined to gratitude, the less likely he or she is to be depressed, anxious, lonely, envious, or…

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

In a nutshell, the fountain of happiness can be found in how you behave, what you think, and what goals you set…

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

Happiness is not out there for us to find. The reason that it's not out there is that it's inside us.

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

If we can accept as true that life circumstances are not the keys to happiness, we'll be greatly empowered to pursue happiness…

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

Every day you have to renew your commitment. Some of the strategies should become habitual over time and not a huge effort.

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

“D. A., and Kahneman, D. (1998). Does living in California make people happy?: A focusing illusion in judgments of life satisfaction. Psychological Science, 9: 340–46.”

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

If you're not happy today, then you won't be happy tomorrow unless you take things into your own hands and take action.

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

It turns out that the process of working toward a goal, participating in a valued and challenging activity, is as important to…

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

Women’s magazines will often ask me things like, 'All right, I need six five-minute happiness strategies.' And I say, well, there aren’t…

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

Thus the key to happiness lies not in changing our genetic makeup (which is impossible) and not in changing our circumstances (i.e.,…

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

Last but not least, the happiest people do have their share of stresses, crises, and even tragedies. They may become just as…

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

Write down your barrier thoughts, and then consider ways to reinterpret the situation. In the process, ask yourself questions like... What else…

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

No one in our society needs to be told that exercise is good for us. Whether you are overweight or have a…

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

The combination of rumination and negative mood is toxic. Research shows that people who ruminate while sad or distraught are likely to…

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

“people who regularly practice appreciation or gratitude—who, for example, “count their blessings” once a week over the course of one to twelve…

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

People prone to joyful anticipation, skilled at obtaining pleasure from looking forward and imagining future happy events, are especially likely to be…

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

When we are fully mindful of the transience of things - an impending return home from an overseas adventure, a graduation, our…

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

“Approximately one-third of all homes in 1940 did not have running water, indoor toilets, or bathtub/showers, and more than half had no…

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

If we observe genuinely happy people, we shall find that they do not just sit around being contented. They make things happen.…

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

I use the term happiness to refer to the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one's…

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

The practice of gratitude is incompatible with negative emotions and may actually diminish or deter such feelings as anger, bitterness, and greed.

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

I prefer to think of the creation or construction of happiness, because research shows that it's in our power to fashion it…

— Sonja Lyubomirsky

All that is required to become an optimist is to have the goal and to practice it. The more you rehearse optimistic…

— Sonja Lyubomirsky