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7 ways to increase personal happiness during COVID-19

The right half of an envelope featuring four stamps: The Voice of America, Little Women, the Pony Express, and a statue of Liberty air mail

I am taking the Science of Well-Being course through Coursera and Yale (free! highly recommend!), and a valuable reminder it offers is that doing things for others significantly increases happiness. For the first time, we're forced to think about how to practice this at a distance. Here are 7 practices to increase your happiness by being kind to others from a distance:

9 Reflections on Volunteerism

Five people sit in chairs holding microphones facing an audience. Jen is on the far right looking at the person speaking at the moment.

Today marks an ending for me. While we as a society are great about celebrating beginnings (weddings, births, new jobs, new home, etc.), we aren't so great at marking the end of something. Even graduations are focused on what comes next, rather than a pause to reflect, a celebration of what was, or perhaps even a time to grieve what is being lost--even if the loss is by choice.