(TED is on its annual two-week vacation. During the break, we’re posting playlists from the TEDTalks archive. We’ll be back with new talks on August 29th.) Happiness seems simple, yet the more we look into it, the more layers and complexities we find. Here are five TEDTalks that will transform how you view happiness, and how to achieve it. ...

Community member Gregory Clark wrote this in response to Shawn Achor's TED Talk, The happy secret to better work: "WOW! Shawn's talk represents a shift in today's cultural, business, and personal lives. He says that happiness is beyond our cognitive sphere, and he is right. We are promised, and demanded to exhibit, happiness from jump street....

Figuring out how to walk quickly from A to B is easy. Just plug two addresses into your favorite map app, and off you go. But sometimes getting to a place as quickly as possible isn't the priority. At least, so thought Barcelona-based Yahoo! Labs researcher Daniele Quercia (TED Talk: Happy maps). Along with two colleagues, Rossano Schifanella an...

In his latest project, “Balloons of Bhutan,” artist, computer scientist and storyteller Jonathan Harris explores how the Kingdom of Bhutan measures quality of life -- not through Gross National Product, but through Gross National Happiness. In 2007 Harris spent two weeks talking to 117 people -- students, farmers, road workers, monks, even a...

Now live online: The new episode of TED Radio Hour, a program from NPR and TED. "The Pursuit of Happiness" is available online now on NPR.com -- and will air online on many US NPR member stations; check your local listings. In Episode 2, "The Pursuit of Happiness," host Alison Stewart talks with Barry Schwartz and Kathryn Schulz -- and we...

Dan Gilbert gave his first TED Talk in February 2004; The surprising science of happiness was one of the first we ever published, in September 2006. Here, the Harvard psychologist reminisces about the impact of TED, shares some suggestions of useful further reading — and owns up to some mistakes. When I gave this talk in 2004, the idea that v...

Essential, data-derived advice for leading a happy, healthy life, shared by researcher and psychiatrist Robert Waldinger. Have you ever wished you could fast-forward your life so you could see if the decisions you’re making will lead to satisfaction and health in the future? In the world of scientific research, the closest you can get to that i...

The key to success at work is being happy -- not the other way around, says Shawn Achor (TED Talk: The happy secret to better work). To learn more about his positive philosophy of the workplace, meet the people who laid the groundwork for his thinking, in this list of must-read books and articles on happiness. Learned Optimism Martin E. P. S...

We think of modern marriage as an institution of love -- but when love ends, we cling to old-fashioned stories about divorce. Astro Teller and Danielle Teller suggest we take a more humane, empathetic look at the end of a marriage. When Gwyneth Paltrow announced her split from her husband using the term “conscious uncoupling,” the media and blo...

"We think we have to be successful, then we'll be happier. But the real problem is our brains work in the opposite order," said Shawn Achor in his charming, immensely popular TED Talk from TEDxBloomington, "The happy secret to better work.” Achor is the CEO of consulting firm Good Think, which conducts research on positive psychology and helps p...

Most of us accumulate things because we think they'll make us happier. While they might, it’s a short-term buzz. What will definitely make you feel better -- and free up time and space -- is letting go of stuff you don’t use, says Matt Paxton, a cleaning expert on TV’s Hoarders. Here's how to lighten up. This post is part of TED’s “How to Be a ...

On the final day of TED2015, Curator Chris Anderson reveals an exclusive video conversation between him and his Holiness the Dalai Lama, filmed in Vancouver in October 2014. In their talk, the Dalai Lama speaks about two kinds of happiness, how all humans can coexist, and the cooperation between science and Buddhism. And most important, that...

Quick: Make a list of the things you need every day. Your first thought is probably what's practical: food, a roof over your head, your health. We value these things so much that we say all human beings deserve them. Artist Theaster Gates (TED Talk: How to revive a neighborhood: with imagination, beauty and art) wants to add a new item to the li...

Why do so many people today experience parenthood like a kind of crisis? That's the question Jennifer Senior sets out to answer on the final day of TED2014. The parenting section of Barnes & Noble is packed with books for eco-friendly kids, gluten-free kids, science-minded kids. For Senior, those shelves don't seem helpful -- they see...

Anxiety could be the price that we have to pay for freedom, suggests psychologist Steven Pinker. When it comes to happiness, many people are underachievers. Americans are laggards among their first-world peers, and their happiness has stagnated in the era sometimes called the American Century. The Baby Boomers, despite growing up in peace and p...

The TED community has lots of news this week. Below, just a few highlights. Motherhood without maternity leave. Imagine going back to work only 20 days after giving birth, using up all of your vacation days in lieu of paid or unpaid family leave. In a two-part series for The Atlantic, Jessica Shortall shares how a woman named Tara, after ...

The TED Interview launches its newest season on October 9, 2019. Last season notably featured Bill Gates, Monica Lewinsky and Susan Cain -- and you can expect another thoughtful lineup of scientists, thinkers and artists for the new season. Season 3 features eight episodes, during which head of TED Chris Anderson will continue to inspire...

TED's own Lisa Bu takes the TED2013 stage now to tell a very personal tale of a journey through literature that began, well, with a shattered dream. Growing up in Hunan, China, in the 1970s, Bu's parents (yes, she had a Tiger Mother) believed there was only one sure way to happiness: a safe and well-paid job; no matter whether she actually l...

David Steindl-Rast is a monk, and a composed, serene figure to wrap up the last session of TEDGlobal 2013. His theme, gratefulness, is also appropriate for the end of a long and intense week. After all, he points out, we all share the same essential goal: to be happy. And gratitude provides the key. "We all know people who have lots of misfo...

What makes us happy? It’s one of the most complicated puzzles of human existence -- and one that, so far, 87 speakers have explored in TEDTalks. In today’s talk, Matt Killingsworth (who studied under Dan Gilbert at Harvard) shares a novel approach to the study of happiness -- an app, Track Your Happiness, which allows people to chart their ...

Beverly + Dereck Joubert: Conservationists and documentary filmmakers Beverly & Dereck Joubert focus on iconic cats, particularly the leopard. Heather + Tony Podesta: We like artwork where, when you close your eyes, you still see it. You see it in 4 minutes, in 4 hours. Hawa Abdi Dhiblawe + Deqo Mohamed: Somal...

When architect Joshua Prince-Ramus redesigned the Seattle Central Library, he and his team didn’t try to pinpoint the future of libraries or books. Instead, they rooted their blueprints in two foundational ideas: books are a form of technology, and the library is a social hub, as much as it is a house for media. Prince-Ramus didn’t know it t...

Paul Zak, a "neuroeconomist," studies why we humans like and trust each other. And the answer, he's found, is the compound oxytocin. In this photo, he's brought a syringe loaded with the stuff onstage, and he creates a striking visual aid (and an outbreak of love and trust among the backstage crew) by atomizing it into the air. Photos: James...

Research-backed advice for what you need to do on your holiday break (and how long you should do it for) Most of us assume that the best way to recover our energy is to take a long, leisurely vacation. It’s as if we have a reservoir of mental energy we gradually consume at work, and we need time away from the office to refill it. According to t...

I’m an anthropology major gearing up for my senior year and all that comes with it -- job applications, extracurricular responsibilities and my senior honors thesis. After a semester abroad, I’m looking forward to returning to the familiarity and challenges that my college, the University of Pennsylvania, presents while incorporating the new per...

In the wilds of planet Earth, there exists a species so creative that it not only uses tools but is constantly rewriting the rules of what a tool can be, so cooperative that they build wildly complex systems to support each other and so consternating that its inconsistent behavior would make even the most seasoned of biologists screamed. That sp...

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely Ariely (TED Talk: How to change your behavior for the better), a professor of psychology and behavioral economics, reveals through many studies why we so often behave in a way that totally contradicts logic. While reading it, I had to smile many times because I cou...

New on iTunes U: Find TEDTalks organized by subject area into courses, curated for students, educators and lifelong learners. In our initial course offering, explore such topics as "Creative Problem-Solving" ... "Understanding Happiness" ... "Climate Change" ... where you'll find great thinkers from TED exploring multiple aspects of a fascin...

Why in the world did I do that? How can I do better? Chances are you've asked yourself these questions at least once today. To understand how your mind works and how you can improve your decision-making, explore these six psychology and behavioral economics books, each one recommended by a TED Talks speaker. Why did I do that? "Edward L....

Smart advice from TED speakers to help you rediscover your joy on the job Dear TED, I’ve been at my job for a few years and it’s … fine? Actually, not so fine. What was once interesting has become a slog, and my boss seems checked out. While I’m glad to be employed, I occasionally fantasize about quitting, moving to Maine, and doing somethin...