greatergood.berkeley.eduGreater Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life

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Search search TOPICS Education Mind & Body Parenting & Family Relationships Workplace Spirituality Politics Society Culture Media & Tech Community Big Ideas KEYS TO WELL-BEING Altruism Awe Compassion Empathy Diversity Forgiveness Gratitude Happiness Mindfulness Social Connection RESOURCES Quizzes Podcasts Videos Books Studies Events & Classes About Masthead Contact Donate Log in Register Scroll To Top Resilience in Grief Losing her daughter put Lucy Hone's resilience research to the test. How to Decode Your Aloof Teen Boy How to Decode Your Aloof Teen Boy Three Ways to Change Your Parenting in the Teenage Years Three Ways to Change Your Parenting in the Teenage Years How Much of Your Happiness Is Under Your Control? How Much of Your Happiness Is Under Your Control? Episode 59: Who Is Your Rock? Episode 59: Who Is Your Rock? Get the science of a meaningful life delivered to your inbox. Submit Most Popular Five Ways Hiking Is Good for You By Jill Suttie | February 14, 2020 Twelve Films That Highlight the Best in Humanity By Jeremy Adam Smith , Elise Proulx , Jill Suttie , Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas , Amy L. Eva , Maryam Abdullah , Alicia Crawford , Andrea Collier , Zaid Jilani | February 5, 2020 See All Most Recent Just One Thing: Find Common Ground By Rick Hanson | February 21, 2020 How to Decode Your Aloof Teen Boy By Jill Suttie | February 20, 2020 What I Learned About Resilience in the Midst of Grief By Lucy Hone | February 19, 2020 How Much of Your Happiness Is Under Your Control? By Kira M. Newman | February 18, 2020 See All The Science of Happiness at Work Greater Good's online course series offering research-based strategies for more satisfaction, connection, and purpose at work. CEs for health professionals & HR managers. Learn More Friendly & Fearless A one-day workshop on combining kindness and assertiveness in important relationships with Rick Hanson, Ph.D., and Daniel Ellenberg, Ph.D. Take a Greater Good Quiz! How compassionate are you? How generous, grateful, or forgiving? Find out! Take a Quiz Keys to Well-Being Bridging Differences Americans are increasingly divided along social and political lines. The evidence for this polarization can be found in our most intimate… Read More Just One Thing: Find Common Ground By | February 21, 2020 All Bridging Differences Articles Social Capital Quiz Take the Quiz Compassion Compassion literally means “to suffer together.” Among emotion researchers, it is defined as the feeling that arises when you are… Read More Twelve Films That Highlight the Best in Humanity By Jeremy Adam Smith , Elise Proulx , Jill Suttie , Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas , Amy L. Eva , Maryam Abdullah , Alicia Crawford , Andrea Collier , Zaid Jilani | February 5, 2020 All Compassion Articles Compassionate Love Quiz Take the Quiz Gratitude Robert Emmons, perhaps the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude, argues that gratitude has two key components, which he describes… Read More What I Learned About Resilience in the Midst of Grief By | February 19, 2020 All Gratitude Articles Gratitude Quiz Take the Quiz Mindfulness Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through… Read More Want to Change Your Life? Try Self-Compassion By | February 3, 2020 All Mindfulness Articles Mindfulness Quiz Take the Quiz Diversity For the Greater Good Science Center, “diversity” refers to both an obvious fact of human life—namely, that there are many different… Read More How Unequal Discipline Hurts Black Students By | February 6, 2020 All Diversity Articles Connection to Humanity Quiz Take the Quiz Awe Awe is the feeling we get in the presence of something vast that challenges our understanding of the world, like looking up at millions of… Read More Five Ways Hiking Is Good for You By Jill Suttie | February 14, 2020 All Awe Articles Awe Quiz Take the Quiz Social Connection When researchers refer to the concept of social connection , they mean the feeling that you belong to a group and generally feel close to… Read More Just One Thing: Find Common Ground By | February 21, 2020 All Social Connection Articles Social Capital Quiz Take the Quiz Happiness Most of us probably don’t believe we need a formal definition of happiness; we know it when we feel it, and we often use the term to… Read More How Much of Your Happiness Is Under Your Control? By | February 18, 2020 All Happiness Articles Happiness at Work Take the Quiz Forgiveness Psychologists generally define forgiveness as a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person… Read More Twelve Films That Highlight the Best in Humanity By Jeremy Adam Smith , Elise Proulx , Jill Suttie , Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas , Amy L. Eva , Maryam Abdullah , Alicia Crawford , Andrea Collier , Zaid Jilani | February 5, 2020 All Forgiveness Articles Forgiveness Quiz Take the Quiz Empathy The term “empathy” is used to describe a wide range of experiences. Emotion researchers generally define empathy as the ability to sense… Read More Twelve Films That Highlight the Best in Humanity By Jeremy Adam Smith , Elise Proulx , Jill Suttie , Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas , Amy L. Eva , Maryam Abdullah , Alicia Crawford , Andrea Collier , Zaid Jilani | February 5, 2020 All Empathy Articles Empathy Quiz Take the Quiz Altruism Altruism is when we act to promote someone else’s welfare, even at a risk or cost to ourselves. Though some believe that humans are… Read More Twelve Films That Highlight the Best in Humanity By Jeremy Adam Smith , Elise Proulx , Jill Suttie , Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas , Amy L. Eva , Maryam Abdullah , Alicia Crawford , Andrea Collier , Zaid Jilani | February 5, 2020 All Altruism Articles Altruism Quiz Take the Quiz A Day of Bridging Differences Walk away from this May 15 even with a set of strategies to use in your work, community, and relationships. Keep Up with Our Happiness Calendar! Your guide to more connection, compassion, and kindness this month Videos View All What is Mindfulness? Jon Kabat-Zinn discusses what mindfulness and meditation are really about: presence of heart. Why Awe Is Such an Important Emotion Dacher Keltner gives an overview of the young science of awe, from how it's expressed to its benefits for health and well-being. Meditating with Kids Want to teach kids a simple meditation? Here's how I do "loving kindness" meditation. Positive Emotions Transform Us Barbara Fredrickson suggests that positive emotions make us more resilient to setbacks, improve our relationships, and may even change our… Overcoming the Skepticism to Mindfulness at Work Dr. Jeremy Hunter , founding director and associate professor of practice at the Executive Mind Leadership Institute , explains how to combat… Challenges to Gratitude Gratitude may be good, Robert Emmons explains, but it isn't always easy. He considers some of the myths around gratitude and obstacles to… Cultivating Gratitude in the Workplace In this presentation at the Greater Good Gratitude Summit, Chris Murchison describes his efforts to create an organizational culture at… Getting Kids to Listen—Without Nagging! Wouldn't it be nice to just...