What If Happiness Is Easier Than You Think?
Welcome to Effective Habits, a weekly newsletter where I share evidence-based strategies and tools to help you live a happy, healthy, and productive life.
Today at a Glance:
The Secret to Being Happy in 2026? It’s Far, Far Simpler Than You Think
Is Choosing Food And Medicine Based on Naturalness a Good Idea?
Ghosting at Work
“How picturesque do those trains later seem to us that we failed to catch.”
🔦Lights, Camera, ...
The secret to being happy in 2026 is simpler than we’re told: stop trying to fix yourself and start doing more of what makes you feel alive. Instead of waiting until you’re finally disciplined, optimized, or “on top of everything,” give yourself permission to enjoy life now, even amid the mess. The usual self-improvement script assumes something is wrong with you and that pleasure must be earned later, but this mindset often becomes a way of postponing the life you actually want. When your days are filled with things that genuinely absorb you — meaningful work, movement you enjoy, art, conversation, nature, service — many struggles ease on their own. Self-control matters, as the marshmallow experiments show, but life offers no prizes for being so good at deferring gratification that you accumulate a thousand uneaten marshmallows, then drop dead. At some point, you have to eat one. Ask what makes you come alive, make space for it in 2026, and remember: this isn’t the prelude to real life, you’re already living it.
🎬Action!
Adopt the mindset that pleasure and meaning aren’t rewards for fixing yourself later, but essential inputs to a good life now. This week, identify one activity that reliably makes you feel absorbed and alive (not “virtuous,” not “productive,” just genuinely engaging) and schedule a small, non-negotiable block of time for it. Do it before you’re caught up, before the to-do list is finished, and without trying to optimize or justify it. Use that time as proof that life doesn’t begin after self-improvement, it happens now.
🔦Lights, Camera, ...
We’re drawn to the word natural for good reasons: nature soothes us, many medicines originate in natural processes, and diets heavy in ultra-processed foods are linked to worse health. But that same instinct can quietly mislead us when we treat “natural” as shorthand for “safe,” “healthy,” or “better.” Nature also gave us arsenic, botulinum toxin, and tobacco, yet research consistently shows a powerful naturalness bias: people prefer foods, drugs, and treatments labeled natural even when they’re no safer or even less effective than synthetic alternatives. Studies find that cigarettes seem less harmful when branded “natural,” that many people choose inferior natural medicines over superior synthetic ones, and that strong natural preferences are linked to lower vaccination rates. The problem isn’t choosing natural options; it’s outsourcing judgment to a label. “Natural” offers an easy yes-or-no rule in a complex world, but health decisions demand nuance. Encouragingly, simply knowing this bias exists helps people correct for it. The takeaway isn’t to distrust nature or embrace synthetics blindly, it’s to pause when “natural” is doing the persuading and ask what actually matters: evidence, risks, and benefits.
🎬Action!
Stop assuming that “natural” is always better. The next time you’re choosing a food, supplement, or medical treatment and notice yourself feeling drawn to it because it’s labeled natural, pause. Ask one deliberate follow-up question: What does the evidence say about its safety and effectiveness compared to the alternatives? Treat “natural” as a description, not a recommendation, and base your choice on data.
Ghosting at Work
Kate Sotsenko
🔦Lights, Camera, ...
Waiting on unanswered emails and delayed decisions is a quiet but common strain of modern work: follow-ups pile up, deadlines creep closer, and when a reply finally arrives, everything becomes urgent, often at the cost of evenings or weekends. Work depends on timely “passes”—approvals, feedback, simple updates—and when those don’t come, stress and mistrust fill the gap, even though silence is rarely meant to be cruel. Most people aren’t intentionally ghosting; they’re avoiding discomfort, conflict, or the awkwardness of saying “not yet” or “we’ve changed our mind.” Yet small signals of acknowledgment—a brief update, a clear pause, a transparent no—can make an outsized difference, offering reassurance and preserving momentum. Teams that prioritize timely responses, even without final answers, reduce unnecessary follow-ups, prevent last-minute scrambles, and build trust. Ghosting erodes trust, while clarity builds it. And trust, more than speed or polish, is what makes work, and working together, actually work.
🎬Action!
Set an anti-ghosting rule and live it. This week, lead by example: decide on a simple standard for yourself or your team. For example: reply within 48 hours, even if the response is just “Not yet,” “Still working on it,” or “I’ll get back to you by Friday.” That small signal of acknowledgment prevents unnecessary follow-ups, reduces anxiety, and protects evenings and weekends from last-minute fire drills. People tend to mirror the behavior of those they respect, so consistency here quietly raises the bar for everyone. A few seconds of clarity now buys trust, calm, and momentum later; silence only compounds guilt, frustration, and overwhelm.
TOOL TIP
Pillzy: A medication tracker that manages pills, vitamins and supplements with smart reminders and flexible scheduling across daily routines. You can view your intake history, and it comes with caregiver-friendly features and a senior-accessible interface to build healthier habits.
FUN FACT
Snow isn’t actually white. It’s just made of clear ice. However, the countless tiny crystal facets in snow scatter incoming sunlight in all directions and reflect nearly all wavelengths equally, so our eyes perceive the combined light as white.
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Disclaimer: The information provided in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a medical professional for advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We are not liable for any risks or issues that may arise from using this information.
