In this episode, Hannah and Amy sit down with Ian Paynton, an entrepreneur and content agency owner who built his dream life in Hanoi, Vietnam, and then found himself asking a question he wasn't prepared for: now what?

Ian takes us back to a childhood shaped by anxiety, loss, and a fierce determination to take care of his family and how that became fuel for decades of relentless performance mode, chasing a ladder of success he'd defined as 10 million pounds. He built the business, moved to Vietnam, got married, and checked every box. And still, the feeling he was waiting for never quite arrived.

Together we explore the arrival fallacy, the well-documented phenomenon where reaching a goal delivers far less happiness than we expected, and its close companion, hedonic adaptation, the brain's tendency to normalize new circumstances and quietly reset our baseline. Ian's story is one of the most honest and human illustrations of both.

The conversation closes with a beautiful reframe: that happiness isn't a destination, it's a butterfly that lands on you and floats away. What lasts is contentment, and that lives in the middle ground.

In this episode: the arrival fallacy, hedonic adaptation, anxiety as fuel, performance mode, contentment vs. happiness, discipline as grounding, the courage of hard conversations, and what it means to finally live in alignment with your values.

Find Ian: We Create Content Ian is a brand director, podcast host, and former journalist and magazine editor based in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Books recommended by Ian:

THE TOOLS by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels

Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age by Chip Conley

Reach out to us! Email us at [email protected] or visit icanbehappier.com. This podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health support. Please reach out to a qualified licensed provider if you need help.

As an Amazon affiliate, we get a small percentage of the sale of any books you purchase through our links. It's an easy way to support us! Thank you!

In this episode, Hannah and Amy sit down with Neha Aamir, a psychotherapist with nearly a decade of experience - and yes, Hannah's own therapist. Together they explore what happiness really is, why it looks so different across cultures, and why the Western model of "get the house, the car, the job" often leaves us feeling empty.

Neha introduces the PERMA model (Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment) and explains why noticing joy is actually a skill, not a personality trait. We dig into the power of cognitive flexibility, the difference between being unhappy and being uncomfortable, and why relationships remain the single biggest predictor of wellbeing, for better and for worse.

We also walk through the RAIN framework (Recognize, Accept, Investigate, Nurture) as a practical tool for sitting with hard emotions instead of avoiding them, and close with a deeply personal conversation about when they each last felt truly happy.

In this episode: cultural perspectives on happiness, hedonic adaptation, the PERMA model, cognitive flexibility, self-trust, flow states, the zones of growth, and why emotional intelligence peaks at 82 (yes, really).

Find Neha: Neha Aamir, Licensed Professional Counselor, Milford, CT, 06460 | Psychology Today She currently practices in Connecticut and welcomes inquiries and consultations.

Reach out to us! Email us at [email protected] or visit icanbehappier.com. This podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health support. Please reach out to a qualified licensed provider if you need help.

What if everything you've been told about stress is not exactly true? In this episode, Hannah shares one of her all-time favorite books, The Upside of Stress by Dr. Kelly McGonigal, and makes a pretty convincing case that it's a must-read for everyone. Amy, who just got her copy the night before recording, comes in as the curious newcomer asking Hannah all sorts of good questions.

Together we dig into McGonigal's central argument: that stress isn't something to eliminate, but something to understand and work with. It's hard to believe, but the research says it's true! Hannah talks about how she used to think stress was just something to avoid and how this book completely shifted her perspective. We explore what stress actually does in the body, why your interpretation of those physical sensations matters waaaayyyy more than you'd think, and why trying to live a stress-free life might actually be getting in the way of a living a meaningful one.

We also look at the three conditions that make stress genuinely harmful, Hannah's one non-negotiable takeaway from the book, and why Amy is very glad she finally picked up her own copy.

Not familiar with the book? Dr. McGonigal's TED Talk "How to Make Stress Your Friend" is a great place to start. Want to buy a copy for yourself? Buy it here and your purchase will support us as an Amazon affiliate! Thanks!

This podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health support. Please reach out to a qualified licensed provider if you need help.

What does it actually mean to be happier? Not perfectly happy, of course, just...more? That's the question driving this podcast, and in this first episode, hosts Hannah Choi and Amy McDuffie introduce themselves and the show they've been dreaming about building together.

You'll hear how two executive function coaches met virtually, started monthly coffee chats, and realized their connection was something worth sharing with the world. They talk about what this podcast is (real stories, real science, honest conversation) and what it isn't (toxic positivity, expert advice from people who claim to have it all figured out). Because as Hannah and Amy are the first to tell you that they're people in progress, too.

In this episode: who they are, how they met, why executive functioning and happiness are more connected than you might think, and a peek at what's coming up, including conversations about happiness vs. contentment, stress, grief, goals, and what happens when you achieve everything you wanted and still wonder what's next.

Other happiness resources:

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

The Science of Well-Being - Dr. Laurie Santos

Happier with Gretchen Rubin

10% Happier with Dan Harris

Happiness Podcast with Dr. Robert Puff

Psychology Today article on "being happier"

This podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health support. If you need help, please reach out to a qualified licensed provider.

Have you ever had that quiet thought, "I think I can be happier," but weren't quite sure how to get there? That's exactly where this podcast begins.

Your hosts are Hannah Choi and Amy McDuffie. We are two executive function coaches who care deeply about living well and are still figuring the happiness thing out themselves. In this short trailer, we introduce who we are, what the show is about, and why we're so excited to go on this journey with you.

I Think I Can Be Happier brings you real stories from people finding their own path toward happiness, the science behind why it's so hard, and tools and strategies that might make things a little easier. Just as our tagline says, "Stories and science for people in progress."

New episodes drop every other week on Mondays. Find us on any podcast platform including YouTube, visit us at icanbehappier.com, or reach us at [email protected].

This podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health support. Please reach out to a qualified licensed provider if you need help.