Greater Good

If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the U.S. by dialing or texting “988 or find the suicide hotline in your country.” Someone in America dies by suicide every 11 minutes. It’s that common. But not normal. Humans have evolved over centuries to survive. So when people try to kill themselves, something ha…

Do you have a hard time calming your nerves? Author Raina Telgemeier tries a practice to get out of her head, one step at a time.

We often look to new solutions to solve modern-day problems—but what if one of the most powerful tools is also one of humanity’s oldest traditions? In A Time to Gather: How Ritual Created the World—and How It Can Save Us, Bruce Feiler spent three years traveling the world trying to understand the enduring power of rituals and collective gatherings. Drawing from both ancient traditions and what he…

You may have seen the headlines.  According to TrueUp, tech companies laid off 674 people a day in 2025—a total of 245,953. So far this year, these companies have laid off an additional 131,504 people. Layoffs often follow increases in economic uncertainty. Executives and consultants pitch “reducing headcount” as necessary, and sometimes even responsible, steps to “protecting the business.”…

When my mother was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia, it was the most difficult time of my life. Not only was I dealing with her care, but I was anticipating her slow, inevitable decline and death. I was living in a kind of betwixt and between, trying to balance caring for her, my young children, and my patients, while feeling palpable grief for what I was about to lose. This is what’s known as …

When life feels overwhelming, many people instinctively turn to nature. A walk in a park. Sitting by the ocean. Watching a sunset. Is this just a pleasant feeling, or is there something deeper at work? A multitude of studies have linked spending time in nature with different aspects of mental health and wellness. For example, immersing oneself in outdoor natural spaces seems to lift depression …

What happens when you linger and look closely at a piece of art? Nathalie Ryan, an educator from the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., guides us through a slow looking practice shown to help deepen your sense of awe, presence, and connection.

A college student in my interpersonal forgiveness class said, “I think I am surprised that to this day, I actually haven’t had a therapist help me with the forgiveness process.” Another student said, “I am now genuinely awed by the possibility of forgiveness as an option for my clients to consider in their own healing journeys.” According to Robert Enright and Richard Fitzgibbons, although the t…

Dating ain’t like it used to be. For example, more people of all ages are meeting on “the apps”—and, not unrelatedly, more of them are complaining about the exhaustion of modern dating. Perhaps as a result for some, many say they are happily single and have no interest in finding a romantic partner. There’s another change we’ve seen over the past few decades that has been less noticed—many of t…

Sharing a new podcast called Stories from a Stranger, which features portraits of strangers connected by themes of love, loss, regret, inspiration, illness, family connections, and more.

A few years ago, Ren Yu was living in New York and, by most measures, doing well. He was productive and physically healthy, while building a life that made sense on paper. But something felt off. What he was missing was harder to name. It was not a lack of activity or ambition. It was a lack of connection. So he started something small. A philosophy group. No curriculum, no credentials required…

Every year, we at Greater Good give out the “Greater Goodies”–awards to series and movies that highlight human strengths and virtues. For this coming Mother’s Day, we zero in on 11 moms from ten TV series who exemplify traits or ideals we might all strive to embody. This is a diverse group. One of these ladies isn’t a “mother” in a literal way, and many of them are extremely flawed people, as we …

What happens when we slow down enough to really experience art? We visit a museum to discover how slow looking at art can cultivate awe, empathy, and a greater sense of connection in a distracted world.

Even though we live in a culture where social media gives anyone and everyone a platform to broadcast their inner lives, people today are astonishingly un-self-aware. Though 95% of people believe they are self-aware, only about 12% actually are. And the people who think they are the most self-aware are often the least. You’d think, given my professional focus and personal interests, that I woul…

For many, romantic partnerships are at the heart of our well-being in life. Yet, these same relationships can be fraught or hard to maintain. Spouses become bored with each other, grow in different directions, or are no longer sexually satisfied, and they separate or divorce. Infidelity among committed partners is also strikingly common, with somewhere between 20-25% of couples reporting at least…

Our monthly Happiness Calendar is a day-by-day guide to well-being. This month, we’re offering a special Happiness & Forgiveness Calendar—and we hope it helps you try to let go and heal. To open the clickable calendar, click on the image below. (Please note: If you are having trouble clicking on calendar links with the Chrome browser, try these tips to fix the issue or try a different brows…

Take a few minutes to reflect on someone who inspires you, and how you can embody the values you admire in them.

Our monthly Happiness Calendar for Educators is a day-by-day guide to building kinder, happier schools where everyone belongs. This month, explore the quiet strength of humility with daily tips from the Greater Good Science Center. We also invite you to join our summer community of practice, Bridging for Belonging: Exploring Empathy, Curiosity, and Intellectual Humility for the Greater Good. Th…

Parenting is an all-consuming job—one that calls for constant caretaking, problem solving, emotional labor, and financial resources. Today, many parents are juggling all of these responsibilities with less emotional support than ever before. Given these pressures, it’s no surprise that parental stress is on the rise. In 2023, nearly 50% of parents surveyed reported feeling overwhelmed most days…

Imagine someone shares a charged, vulnerable story in a meeting and the room goes quiet. In that silence, where does your mind go? You might reach for warmth and attunement, affirming what you heard and helping the speaker feel less alone. You might feel pulled to “zoom out,” offering a fresh frame or new possibility that helps the group make sense of the story. You might process internally, qui…