In one of my classes this semester entitled “Conspiracy” my professor taught me a couple of valuable lessons. First off my professor was in his early 70’s, a graduate of MIT and Harvard Medical School, and quite simply the most knowledgeable person on the planet (might be a stretch). Throughout the semester he emphasized the importance of thinking clearly. Thinking clearly, he repeated ad nauseam, was not something we must do when we feel like it, but something we must force ourselves to do all of the time.

On the first day of class he handed out the syllabus and on the last page was the itinerary for our last class period.  It read: The Secret to Happiness.

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I stumbled upon David Foster Wallace’s 2005 commencement speech which he gave at Kenyon University and found it to have some great advice. Interestingly enough this speech was given on my 21st birthday, wish I had read it back then.

Here is a snippet:

“If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. On one level, we all know this stuff already. It’s been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, epigrams, parables; the skeleton of every great story. The whole trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness.”

Read the whole thing here. It will probably make your day.

This invaluable piece of advice is via Zen Habits. Here they are, the Three Secrets to Happiness:

1. Good relationships. We have a human need to be close, to be intimate, with other human beings. Having good, supportive friendships, a strong marriage or close and loving relationships with our family members will make us much more likely to be happy. Action steps: Take time, today, to spend time with your loved ones, to tell them what they mean to you, to listen to them, and develop your relationship with them.
2. Positive thinking. I’m obviously a big proponent of positive thinking as the best way to achieve your goals, but it turns out that it can lead to happiness too. Optimism and self-esteem are some of the best indicators of people who lead happy lives. Happy people feel empowered, in control of their lives, and have a positive outlook on life. Action steps: Make positive thinking a habit. In fact, this should be one of the first habits you develop. Get into the habit of squashing all negative thoughts and replacing them with positive ones. Instead of “I can’t” think “I can”. It may sound corny, but it has worked for me, every time.
3. Flow. This is a popular concept on the Internet these days — the state we enter when we are completely focused on the work or task before us. We are so immersed in our task that we lose track of time. Having work and leisure that gets you in this state of flow will almost undoubtedly lead to happiness. People find greatest enjoyment not when they’re passively mindless, but when they’re absorbed in a mindful challenge. Action steps: Find work that you’re passionate about. Seriously — this is an extremely important step. Find hobbies that you’re passionate about. Turn off the TV — this is the opposite of flow — and get outside and do something that truly engages you.