--- title: Being Yourself Can Make You Happier, According to Research description: Think about your strengths—and use them canonical: https://time.com/4067090/how-to-be-happy/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-12T04:01:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:28.485Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Being Yourself Can Make You Happier, According to Research og:description: Think about your strengths—and use them og:url: https://time.com/4067090/how-to-be-happy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc372fd13097fe2c8/698867840a4a228c119c679b/couple-bicycle-riding.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5600 og:image:height: 3150 og:image:alt: couple-bicycle-riding og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Being Yourself Can Make You Happier, According to Research twitter:description: Think about your strengths—and use them twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc372fd13097fe2c8/698867840a4a228c119c679b/couple-bicycle-riding.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Being Yourself Can Make You Happier, According to Research > Sponsored content. 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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. ## Video: The Island That Holds the Secret to Long Life [Watch (HLS stream): The Island That Holds the Secret to Long Life](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/orlnwhNb.m3u8) (7:08)  _Published 2014-05-23. Here's how the people of Ikaria, Greece reach old age_ by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Oct 12, 2015 4:01 AM UTC  Young couple cycling with legs out Young couple cycling with legs out Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Oct 12, 2015 4:01 AM UTC I’d revise it to “be your _best_ self.” People who deliberately exercised their signature strengths — those qualities they were uniquely best at, the talents that set them apart from others — on a daily basis became significantly happier for _months_. Via [The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307591549/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0307591549): --- > “” --- **_HEY YOU_**: Before you flit on to the next shiny thing on the internet, pause for a just a second: _What are you uniquely good at? Could you do it more often? When? Make a quick plan to do it daily at a specific time or triggered by a consistent event. After you accomplish it, reward yourself. You’re already on your way to a life-changing good habit._ :) **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/04/does-be-yourself-really-make-you-happier/)**_._** **Join over 215,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** 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/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4067090/how-to-be-happy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4067090/how-to-be-happy/"},"headline":"Being Yourself Can Make You Happier, According to Research","datePublished":"2015-10-12T04:01:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:49:28.485Z","description":"Think about your strengths—and use them","url":"https://time.com/4067090/how-to-be-happy/","keywords":["Psychology","Happiness"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc372fd13097fe2c8/698867840a4a228c119c679b/couple-bicycle-riding.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc372fd13097fe2c8/698867840a4a228c119c679b/couple-bicycle-riding.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"couple-bicycle-riding","caption":"couple-bicycle-riding","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4067090/how-to-be-happy/","name":"Being Yourself Can Make You Happier, According to Research"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Island That Holds the Secret to Long Life","description":"Here's how the people of Ikaria, Greece reach old age","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/orlnwhNb/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-05-23T20:32:12.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/orlnwhNb.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4067090/how-to-be-happy/","duration":"PT7M8S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4067090/how-to-be-happy/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```