How To Be Happy

Have you ever woken up on a Tuesday morning, looked at your stable life, and felt a bit of an ache open up in your chest? You are ticking every box society handed you, yet you still find yourself asking: “Is this it? ”

We live in a world obsessed with keeping us occupied, but it rarely keeps us fulfilled. In this solo episode of How to Be Happy, I dive into the psychology of human meaning and purpose.

For a long time, I treated purpose like a hidden treasure chest; a single, massive object I had to "find." But as a happiness researcher, I discovered that this treasure-hunt mindset is actually making people deeply unhappy.

In this episode we explore:

• The Fractured Roots of Meaning: Why modern life has stripped away our traditional anchors of community, and the surprising biological toll that a lack of purpose takes on your physical health.
• The "Finding" Fallacy: Why your purpose isn't hiding under a rock waiting to be discovered, and how shifting from "searching" to "building" completely rewrites your timeline
• The Purpose Equation: A deep dive into my core actionable framework to help you hone more purpose in your life.

Links & Connect With Me:

• Subscribe to the Show: If this perspective shift brings a sense of relief or clarity to your week, please hit Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts! For every single person who subscribes to the show, we pay to protect one square meter of threatened rainforest.

• Grab Your Copy of 'How to Be Happy': Want to explore the skills of happiness even deeper? An entire chapter of my brand-new book is dedicated exclusively to the science of shaping a profound sense of purpose. Pick up your copy at all good bookstores, grab it online via Amazon or Booktopia, or download it immediately as an audiobook on Audible.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going—or so the old saying goes. But in a modern world where chronic, low-grade stress has officially become our most commonly cited daily feeling , why aren't we all naturally coming back stronger?

The truth is that standard self-help culture has completely misdiagnosed resilience. Bouncing back to the exact same place after a crisis isn't enough—true hardiness is about using exposure to adversity to progressively expand your physical, mental, and emotional capacity.

In this special interview episode of How to Be Happy, I am reversing the seats with Dr. Paul Taylor—a psychophysiologist, neuroscientist, and author of The Hardiness Effect. Following my recent appearance on his show , Paul joins me to pull back the curtain on his intense background in military survival training and share a framework for trading psychological fragility for long-term growth.

In this episode we explore:

• Beyond Resilience: Why traditional coping mechanisms leave you fragile, and the core differences between a standard threat appraisal versus a challenge orientation.

• The Cortisol Hangover: Why viewing daily friction as a fundamental threat releases long-acting stress chemicals that systematically degrade memory, immunity, and mental health over time.

• The "Easy Dopamine" Trap: How typical relaxation routines like social media doom scrolling, binge-watching, and comfort eating mimic a stress state, leaving you depleted.

• The Wildcard Review: Paul's unfiltered, rapid-fire verdict on whether acupressure mats, float tanks, ice baths, and expensive vitamin supplements are genuinely moving the needle or are completely overrated.

Links & Next Steps:

• Connect with Dr. Paul Taylor: Ready to master the habits of psychological hardiness, check out his podcast, or grab a copy of his best-selling books, The Hardiness Effect and Death by Comfort.

• Subscribe to the Show: If this perspective shift on handling the messiness of life brought value to you, please hit Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts! For every single person who subscribes we pay to protect one square meter of threatened rainforest through B1G1.

I want to have a conversation about a topic that a lot of corporate self-help spaces conveniently choose to ignore: Money.

Throughout this season of the podcast, we have been breaking down the 7 Cs of employee happiness; dissecting concepts like Culture, Connection, and Celebration. But let’s be real: none of those other Cs matter if your people are not being paid adequately or fairly.

In this solo episode, I am pulling back the curtain on the harsh economic realities of the modern workplace. I want to share the heavy-hitting data and research mapping the destructive impact of financial stress and insecurity on human wellbeing, mental health, and employee performance. We look at the staggering percentage of people across Australia, the US, and Canada who currently feel financially insecure, and use real-world data to back up why wage growth is lagging far behind inflation.

We also tackle the elephant in the room: how we are living through an era of stagnant frontline wages contrasted with record-breaking executive compensation packages and soaring corporate profits.

In this episode we explore:

• The "Hygiene Factor" of Money: Understand that while money alone cannot buy ultimate happiness, a lack of fair pay almost guarantees misery.
• The Hard Math of Financial Stress: Look at the evidence-based data proving how financial insecurity triggers chronic cognitive overload, decimates workplace productivity, and drives high employee turnover.
• The Stagnant Wage Reality: Break down the real metrics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and global equivalents showing exactly how negative real wage growth is squeezing households.
• The Cost of Losing Good People: Discover the jaw-dropping findings from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) mapping what it actually costs a company to replace an employee.

Subscribe to the Show: Please take a brief second to hit Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts! It is the single best way to support our independent show and help the skills and science of happiness reach more people. As our ongoing pledge to be a business for good, we pay to protect one square meter of threatened rainforest for every single person who subscribes

Do you constantly criticise yourself for not being 100% productive every single day?

In our hyper-accelerated world, we have built an impossible expectation that we should always be performing at maximum optimisation. But trying to maintain a peak level of output 24/7 isn't sustainable. It’s a direct recipe for chronic burnout, exhaustion, and anxiety.

In this solo episode of How to Be Happy, I want to tackle the psychological trap of toxic productivity. I'm sharing a personal perspective shift that completely transformed my own relationship with pressure and high performance/

If you are ready to let go of suffocating expectations, this episode will give you my exact, bite-sized blueprint to smooth out life's transitions and protect your mental health year-round.

In this episode I share:

• The High-Performance Myth: Understand why your "best" is a biological peak metric meant to be an outlier, not your baseline daily average.
• The Neurobiology of Pacing: Explore the hidden wellness benefits of fast-paced "Go Times" (eustress and neuroplasticity) versus the deep necessity of "Slow Times" (consolidation and nervous system repair).
• The Gear-Shifting Dilemma: Discover why sudden shifts in life paces create acute anxiety and restlessness, and why your brain demands a cognitive "buffer zone" to match your surroundings safely.

Links & Next Steps:

• Subscribe & Share: Enjoyed this episode? Hit Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to support our independent show! For every single person who subscribes, we pay to protect one square meter of threatened rainforest. If you know a high-achiever who is currently burning out, please share this episode with them today.

• Leave Me a Book Review: If my book, How to Be Happy, has helped you navigate your life's pacing, please leave us a quick, honest review on Amazon or Goodreads. It takes less than 60 seconds and helps our message reach more hands globally!

• Grab Your Copy of 'How to Be Happy': If you haven't read it yet, pick up your copy of my evidence-based toolkit at all good brick-and-mortar bookstores, or grab it online via Amazon, Booktopia, or download it immediately as an audiobook on Audible.

• Upgrade Your Wellbeing: Ready to dive deeper into the positive psychology frameworks I teach? Visit BUHappinessCollege.com to explore our range of Self-Study Courses or apply for our premium 1-on-1 Personal Coaching Enrolment Options to build a life tailored entirely to your definition of happiness.

What if simply showing up to work and doing your day-to-day job could give you a profound sense of meaning, contribution, and joy?

In a world where so many people feel like their work completely lacks a core purpose, we often default to a dangerous corporate mindset: “One day, when we are large or successful enough, then we will think about giving back.” But waiting for an arbitrary finish line is a massive trap that robs your team of fulfilment right now.

In this special workplace edition of How to Be Happy, I am absolutely thrilled to be joined by Paul Dunn and Masami Sato, the visionary founders of B1G1 (Buy1Give1). For nearly six years, my organisation, BU Happiness College, has proudly partnered with B1G1 to embed real-world impact directly into our daily operations—including this very podcast, where every single subscription protects one square meter of threatened rainforest.

Paul and Masami share the unfiltered story of how they flipped traditional philanthropy completely on its head by shifting away from grand corporate donations and focusing on the unshakeable momentum of micro-giving. We break down the behavioral psychology of why authentic generosity functions as a massive workplace performance lever, how to craft an internal giving culture that drives long-term resilience, and a sneak peek into their brand-new global program designed to bring this exact habit right into your family household

In this episode we explore:

• The Power of Small to All: How tracking an aggregated total of over 404 million positive impacts shifts a business from an empty transaction mindset to a legacy mindset.

• The Forklift Example: A real-world look at how linking a basic manual labor task to a direct, external ripple effect instantly elevates employee engagement.

• Playful Micro-Giving Targets: The highly unique, creative ways businesses are using the B1G1 platform to incentivise good habits, reward meeting punctuality, and spark daily gratitude.

• Fostering Humanity’s Flourishing: Moving beyond the standard "Experience Economy" into the "Transformation Economy" to make business the most rewarding thing you do.

Links and Next Steps:

• Bring B1G1 to Your Business or Family: Ready to turn business as usual into a vehicle for global good, explore their massive list of 495 active projects, or sign up your kids for the mobile app? Head straight to B1G1.com.

• Subscribe to the Show: If today's conversation on micro-kindness inspired you to take action, please hit Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts! For every new subscriber we pay to protect one square meter of threatened rainforest through B1G1.

• Connect with Me: If you are a business or HR leader who wants to learn more about how we personalise our giving filters to boost our team's satisfaction, reach out to me personally on any social media platform.

Are you running an organisation or managing a team that is constantly hitting milestones, only to immediately sprint toward the next KPI without a single moment of pause? In today’s high-pressure corporate world, we have institutionalised an endless treadmill of "more"—and it is driving our best talent straight into burnout and resignation.

In this episode of How to Be Happy (at Work), host Declan Edwards breaks down the fifth pillar of employee happiness: Celebration. Written specifically for progressive leaders, people managers, and business owners, this episode dives into the heavy-hitting behavioural data showing why genuine recognition is your ultimate retention engine. Moving far beyond tokenistic corporate gestures like pizza parties or generic shout-outs, Declan shares the neurobiology behind true appreciation and reveals a practical blueprint to make your teams feel deeply seen, validated, and valued.

In this episode we cover:

• The High Cost of Silence: Discover why employees who receive high-quality recognition are up to 56% less likely to look for a new job, while a lack of feedback is processed by the brain as an active social threat.

• The Addiction to "Next": Learn the organisational psychology behind the corporate "hedonic treadmill" and why intentional checkpoints are vital to refill your team's psychological fuel tanks.

• The BIA Praise Model: Master a simple, highly effective 3-part framework to move away from empty, performative praise and deliver surgical, high-impact validation that inspires peak performance.

Bring Declan to Your Next Event:

Want to transform your organisation's people experience or bring this data-backed approach to your executive leadership team? Declan regularly keynotes and runs immersive workshops at corporate events, company retreats, and team offsites. Click here to browse his offers and start the conversation: https://declanedwards.com.au/

Have you ever walked through your front door after a long day, looked at the mess, and felt instantly overwhelmed? You are not alone. Our homes have become overcrowded warehouses for our stress .

In this episode of How to Be Happy, happiness researcher Declan Edwards explains how your living space secretly rules your mood .

We look at the fascinating science of "Environmental Wellbeing" . You will learn why online shopping only gives us a fake, temporary mood boost . We also share a UCLA study that shows how a cluttered room physically spikes your stress hormones .

If you are ready to turn your home back into a peaceful sanctuary, this episode gives you the exact, bite-sized steps to do it .

Quick Links & Resources:

• Take the Free Happiness Scorecard: Want to see how your environment is tracking? Take our quick 3-minute quiz for a personalised breakdown of your well-being .

• Read the Book: If you love relaxing in a clean space with a great read, grab Declan’s new book, How to Be Happy, at bookstores, Amazon, Booktopia, or on Audible .

• Subscribe & Protect: Hit subscribe on your podcast app ! For every single person who follows the show, we pay to protect one square meter of threatened rainforest .

Have you ever ticked every single box of success—earned the degrees, smashed your goals, and worked yourself to the bone—only to realise you’ve completely forgotten how to relax?

It is incredibly easy to fall into a cycle of perfectionism, chronic people-pleasing, and hustle culture, running your health straight into the ground just to prove your worth.

In this episode of How to Be Happy, I’m sitting down with the absolutely electric Annelise McCarthy; a women's communication expert, speaker, Coach, and proud graduated of BU Happiness College. Annelise spent 3 full years studying the skills and science of happiness at BU Happiness College, and she is the ultimate case study of what happens when you take radical responsibility for your life.

We take a trip down memory lane to map her massive personal transformation from a high-strung, boundary-less overachiever to a woman who is now completely thriving.

Annelise lifts the lid on her personal toolkit, sharing how tools like fierce self-compassion, firm boundaries, and the feelings wheel protect her mental health and wellbeing. We also explore the deep connection between positive psychology and confident communication, proving why public speaking is actually a game of self-trust, emotional vulnerability, and learning how to truly face yourself.

In this episode:

• The "How to Be" Shift: What happens when you stop studying how to do more and start learning the baseline emotional skills required to actually live in the present.
• Redefining Self-Compassion: Why treating yourself with kindness isn't a lazy cop-out, but a form of discipline that gives your body what it needs instead of just what it wants.
• Internal vs. External Boundaries: How to build a healthier relationship with your phone and social media to protect your time and energy.
• The Real Secret to Public Speaking: Why consuming endless books and videos is useless if you lack the internal self-trust to back yourself in a boardroom or on a stage.
• The Fear of Being Seen: Why the universal dread of speaking is deeply tied to our fear of visibility, and how connecting with yourself unlocks your ability to connect with an audience.

Links & Next Steps:

• Connect with Annelise: Ready to master communication and learn how to own any room you walk into? Check out her expert coaching and resources at AnneliseMcCarthy.com or find her on social media @theannelisemccarthy

• Claim Your Free Happiness Connection Call: Inspired by Annelise's journey to stop surviving and start prioritising your development? Let's chat! For a limited time, I am opening up my personal calendar for a free, 15-minute connection call to map out your next steps. Click here

• Grab Your Copy of 'How to Be Happy': Want to master the exact tools Annelise and I discussed today? Emotional intelligence and literacy are the very first skills I explore in my brand-new book, featuring a comprehensive breakdown of the feelings wheel. Pick up your copy at all good bookstores, online via Amazon or Booktopia, or download it immediately on Audible.

We spend a massive chunk of our waking hours at our jobs, yet millions of people drag themselves through the week feeling completely unseen, disconnected, and burnt out. As organizations, we pour millions of dollars into flashy HR software, task-tracking apps, and corporate wellness initiatives. But according to the raw data, most companies are aggressively over-investing in operational systems that have zero impact on human fulfilment, while completely ignoring what actually makes us thrive.

In this special workplace edition of How to Be Happy, I’m joined by Matt Phelan, the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of The Happiness Index. Matt and his team have analyzed an incredible 250 million data points from over 170 countries to map out the psychological reality of the modern employee experience. We dive straight into the findings of their 2026 Global Workplace Happiness Report, crunching the numbers on what happens to our performance when our basic human needs are ignored.

Matt opens up about why he spent 11 years trapped in the "perfectionism loop" before finally declaring this "Year Zero" and getting the data out into the world. We challenge the standard corporate approach to return-to-office mandates, break down why 100% virtual environments are backfiring for younger workers, and expose why the executive suite is often a far lonelier, less happy place to be than middle management.

In this episode we explore:

• The Flywheel Effect: How Matt utilised a basic efficiency workflow to bridge data and technology, and why it completely cleared the "cognitive debt" out of his business.
• The "Snickers Bar" Exception: A look at why the basic foundations of human motivation haven't evolved in thousands of years, proving that happiness at work costs absolutely nothing.
• Treating People How They Want to Be Treated: Why generic corporate recognition system defaults fail, and how to customise appreciation to fit introverts, extroverts, and everyone in between
• The Autonomy vs. Proximity Debate: A real-world breakdown of why location autonomy outscores office proximity for creative problem-solving and focus.
• Ignorance vs. Incompetence: A hard call-out to modern executive boards on why ignoring workplace culture metrics is no longer just a HR issue—it’s a commercial performance failure.

Links & Next Steps:

• Download the Full Report: Ready to see how your own team or organisation stacks up against tens of millions of cultural insights? Click here to sign up for and download the complete Global Workplace Happiness Report for free!
• Connect with Matt: Follow Matt Phelan’s world-class thought leadership and research directly on Linkedin or check out his personal website at https://mattphelan.co.uk/
• Subscribe to the Show: If this conversation helped you find a fresh perspective on your own work life today, please hit Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts! For every single person who follows the show we pay to protect one square meter of threatened rainforest

How many times over the last few weeks have you looked out the window at a grey, freezing morning and felt your mood instantly take a nosedive? As human beings, we have a bad habit of becoming "weather hostages"—holding our happiness ransom until the sun graciously decides to return . We treat winter like an adversary to survive rather than a natural season to enjoy .

In this solo episode of How to Be Happy, Declan Edwards shares a perspective shift . Year after year, the World Happiness Report is dominated by Nordic countries like Denmark and Finland . If happiness required blue skies, they would be at the bottom of the list . Instead, they thrive by practicing Hygge (pronounced hoo-gah); the deliberate curation of intimacy, presence, and sanctuary .

Declan breaks down the cognitive psychology behind our "cultural scripts" about the cold and shares the hard science of how shifting your physical environment can soothe your nervous system .

In this episode, we explore:

• The Scandi Contrast: Why populations dealing with sub-zero temperatures and under four hours of daylight report the highest life satisfaction on earth .

• The Psychological Impact of Low Light: How changing your environmental cues shifts your body out of "fight or flight" and directly into the parasympathetic nervous system .

• Cultural Schema: The difference between viewing winter as a negative cancellation of your plans versus an opportunity for cozy curation .

  
  

  Recommended Resources:

• Grab the Book: If your favourite way to practice Hygge is curling up under a heavy blanket with a hot drink and a great book, Declan’s brand-new book, How to Be Happy, is officially out now! Pick up a copy at all good bookstores, Amazon, Booktopia, or on Audible .

• Subscribe & Protect: Click subscribe on your podcast platform to support our independent show . For every single subscriber who joins the family, we pay to protect one square meter of threatened rainforest .