--- title: How to Find Happiness: Ask Yourself 3 Questions About Interests description: Know what your interests are canonical: https://time.com/3930045/find-happiness-questions/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-24T04:01:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:34.033Z article:section: Ideas og:title: How to Find Happiness: 3 Secrets From Science og:description: Know what your interests are og:url: https://time.com/3930045/find-happiness-questions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7e94376203d2456/69885590428a9e3d88ccdd3b/157853302-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=507&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 507 og:image:height: 285 og:image:alt: man-mountain-biking og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Find Happiness: 3 Secrets From Science twitter:description: Know what your interests are twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7e94376203d2456/69885590428a9e3d88ccdd3b/157853302-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=507&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Find Happiness: 3 Secrets From Science > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=cf97b61b-8331-441b-8641-7ece2da83456&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: How to Maximize Happiness With Your Spending: An Economist Explains [Watch (HLS stream): How to Maximize Happiness With Your Spending: An Economist Explains](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Ypg3UoAM.m3u8) (1:29)  _Published 2014-06-09. University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers explains how best to spend your money to maximize happiness._ by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jun 24, 2015 4:01 AM UTC  A man mountian biking. A man mountian biking. Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jun 24, 2015 4:01 AM UTC You’ve probably read a lot of stuff on the internet about how to find happiness… but you’re still not jumping for joy. Some of the tips feel corny… so you don’t actually do them. Others stop working after a while so you stop following through. What gives? Isn’t there a solution that really works and keeps working? I’m with you. I want answers. Who has them? Sonja does. So I gave her a call. [Sonja Lyubomirsky](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010O927W/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0010O927W&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20&linkId=F4TPM5QRR7FMXMD2) is a professor at University of California at Riverside and one of the leading experts on happiness. She’s the author of two great books on the subject: * [The How of Happiness](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010O927W/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0010O927W&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20&linkId=F4TPM5QRR7FMXMD2) * [The Myths of Happiness](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A6WOR1A/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00A6WOR1A&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20&linkId=YQMRGL4GDPL2IJPH) Okay, let’s find out why all these tips we see again and again may not be working — and what will make you happier. ## What’s The Best Version Of You? A lot of what you read about becoming happier sounds downright corny. [Counting your blessings](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2015/05/happy-all-the-time/), [doing good for others](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/05/harvard-michael-norton-happier/)… all those cliches your wise grandmother told you to do. But here’s the thing: the cliches are often true. Grandmom knows a lot. Here’s Sonja: --- > “” --- But if it feels corny — even if it works — you often don’t follow through. So what addresses that very real issue? Sonja says that the best method is the one that clicks for you. Maybe you’re already showing gratitude. Maybe you’re the most gratitudinous person on the planet. (Yeah, I made that word up.) But there’s an area of your life that could use a boost, something that will move the needle and that’s where to start. Here’s Sonja: --- > “” --- So don’t feel like you have to do something that sounds silly to you. But what is going to click for you? **Ask: “What’s my vision of my best possible self?”** When your life is perfect, what is it like? And that can tell you what’s really important to you and what your values are. Research shows that thinking about your [best possible self](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/08/is-thinking-about-the-best-possible-version-o/) doesn’t just clarify goals — it can also make you happier just by thinking about it. Here’s Sonja: --- > “” --- (For more on what makes the happiest people on Earth so happy, click [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/06/happiest-people/).) Great. But I have bad news. That happiness trick is going to stop working after a while. Huh? _Why?!?_ Don’t worry: it’s not your fault… ## “Hedonic Adaptation” That’s just a fancy way of saying: _You can take ANYTHING for granted._ Yes, anything. Researchers looked at people who suffered terrible accidents and ended up in wheelchairs. Guess what? Eventually, they [adapted](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/11/who-is-happier-lottery-winners-or-paralyzed-a/) and were happy again. Hooray! But researchers also looked at lottery winners… Yup, people eventually [adapted to that too](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/11/who-is-happier-lottery-winners-or-paralyzed-a/). Ugh. We all take things for granted. We never experience something and then BOOM — we’re happy for the rest of our lives. When we say “I’ll be happy when X happens” we’re just not telling the truth. That great job, that dream wedding, that beautiful baby — none of them is the final key to happiness we think it will be. Here’s Sonja: --- > “” --- (For more on what the most successful people have in common, click [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/12/successful-people/).) Depressing, I know. But we ain’t done. Not by a long shot. Here’s what you can do about it… ## New! Different! Surprising! Habits are awesome for [getting things done](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2015/01/how-to-stop-procrastinating/) and they make our lives much more [efficient](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/10/how-to-be-efficient/). But because of hedonic adaptation, habits can be a big problem for happiness — you can get in a rut. But there’s a solution. Actually, there are three: * **Novelty**: Try a new angle. Watching Netflix on the couch feeling stale? Go to the movies. * **Variety**: Try different strategies. [Gratitude](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2015/05/happy-all-the-time/) isn’t doing it anymore? Try [savoring](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/02/happiest-people-in-the-world/). * **Surprise**: Not sure how something will turn out? Awesome. Grab that special someone and take tango lessons. Or sumo wrestling classes. To beat hedonic adaptation, we need to keep things fresh. Here’s Sonja: --- > “” --- When I talked to one of the leading experts on love, [Arthur Aron](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/10/how-to-have-a-great-relationship-2/), he said the same thing: doing something new and exciting has enormous power to spice up a relationship — and make you happier. I know, I know, you need a concrete answer of what to do. But you also need something tailored for _you_. Well, here’s a great way to find that: **Ask yourself: “What would I do if this were my last month?”** When you feel like good things are going to end, it dramatically shifts your perspective. You take advantage of opportunities. You do the things you know you love. You get off the couch and see those people who mean so much to you. And she’s done the research — answering this question has power. Here’s Sonja: --- > “” --- (For more on how to stop being lazy, click [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/).) Okay, lots of stuff here and we don’t want this to be yet another internet happiness list that doesn’t produce results. Let’s round this up into something you can use… ## Sum Up Research-backed happiness wisdom from Sonja: * **Ask “What’s the best version of me?**“: This can tell you what you value and what’s missing in your life. Now you know what interests you and can get you closer to that perfect, happy life. * **New! Different! Surprising!**: You _can and will_ take anything for granted. So spice up the things that make you happy by adding novelty, variety or surprise. * **Ask “What would I do if this were my last month?”**: If you felt you’d never be able to do that fun thing again or see that special someone again, you’d get off your butt. So ask the question — and then do that stuff. Happiness doesn’t have to be complicated. Research shows simple things like hugs [really do make us happier](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/01/do-hugs-really-make-us-happier/). And as [Bil Keane](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1600105483/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1600105483&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20&linkId=CPZ3UTNJANKXQ2HP) once said: --- > “” --- I’ll be sending out a PDF with more joy-inducing tips from Sonja in [my next weekly email](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD). (Including the answer to the one thing you do all the time that killshappiness.) To make sure you get it, sign up for my weekly email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD). **Join over 195,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2015/06/how-to-find-happiness-2/)**_._** Related posts: [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) [How To Get People To Like You: 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior Expert](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/10/how-to-get-people-to-like-you/) [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/) ## Transcript Other ways you can better use your money to get more happiness bang for your buck. The research seems to suggest there are ways in which you can. The first would be to say, focus on experiences rather than goods. Right now you might covet a new car, and you might think that one of your next get to sit in a fancy new sports car, that you'll be so much happier. The truth is you'll be sitting in traffic. You'll be thinking about the day you just had at work. We think about other things and the fact that you're in a shiny new car won't be that salient you won't get that much joy out of it. Think instead about a, a great vacation. You can probably remember the last great great vacation you had. And you can still enjoy dining out on those memories. And that's the sensing in which it makes sense to focus on spending. On experiences rather than things. And then there are actually techniques we can use to do a even better job of that. I remember when I went to the World Series. I didn't just go to the World Series. I bought a, a baseball cap, that always reminds me of the fact that I went to the World Series with my stepfather. That elongates the experience. Like I get to relive having been at the World Series many, many more times. And then there's research from Mike Norton at Harvard who says that, giving money can actually yield greater happiness. And it's an instinct that's within many of us. And I, the way I interpret Mike's research is don't let the inner, inner economist or the inner Grinch within you squash that impulse. 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