Summary: Tal Ben-Shahar, the professor of happiness, is famous for teaching the most popular course in the history of Harvard. It was called "Positive Psychology" and in it he teaches the secret to living a happy life. It's no wonder that at its peak, close to 1,000 students would pack into his lecture hall twice a week to hear his words of wisdom. He has since gone on to write several bestselling books including "Happier" and "The Pursuit of Perfection" and now travels the world giving seminars on leadership, happiness and gratitude. "Expressing gratitude on a regular basis – writing what you're grateful for before going to bed, can help us become not just happier and more optimistic, but also more generous, kinder toward others, and interestingly, physically healthier," Ben-Shahar told us. On today's episode, Tal reveals several ways that we can teach ourselves to be happy in our everyday life. Plus, find out why he quit playing squash to become a professor, and hear about the happiness project he's working on that's open to everyone, not just students at Harvard. For behind the scenes access to our show, please join the "Our Friend from Israel" Facebook group. For additional notes, photos and a transcript of this episode, please visit www.ourfriendfromisrael.com.
