Happiness researcher reveals the 'enduring' secret to being happy in the second half of life

It goes against what Mother Nature may be telling you.

By Tod Perry

Happiness researcher Dr. Arthur Brooks says that one of the most important things people can do as they enter the second half of their life is to focus on internal well-being rather than satisfying all of their wants. Even though this may feel like it runs counter to how many live the first half of their lives, he says it's the best way to find joy in middle age and beyond.

Brooks is a professor at Harvard University, author of From Strength to Strength and Build the Life You Want (with Oprah Winfrey), and is a lifelong student of the science of happiness. He says the key to finding it in the second half of life is recognizing when enough is enough and reducing unnecessary desires.

“What happy, successful people do in the second half of their lives is they go from adding to subtracting," Brooks says. "Mother Nature tells you that satisfaction comes from having more. More of what? More money, more power, more pleasure, more honor, more everything. More. But that's not the secret. The real formula for happiness is all the things that you have divided by the things that you want.”

💰 17 ridiculously simple money habits, according to a former investment banker

Nischa Shah cracks the personal finance code.

By kat hong

Small actions lead to significant results. Take Nischa Shah, for example, who left her six-figure investment banking job and built a million-dollar content business instead. Her viral YouTube video, “17 Habits That Made Me Rich,” has racked up nearly 3 million views, in which she divulges the practical daily habits that gradually transformed her finances.

“The key to getting rich isn’t life at the extreme, like waking up at 4 a.m.,” Shah explains at the video’s start. “It’s about forming micro-habits: tiny habits that you follow consistently. These small habits compound over time and not only have a big impact on your finances, but also on your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.”

Everyone has such beautiful moms. ♥️

🎃 Texas neighbors have stepped up their spooky 'Halloween battle' and people are taking sides

"Is that all you got?"

By Cecily Knobler

Move over Christmas, Halloween decorations just got more competitive—and spookier! For Aubrey, Texas residents Kendell Aden and Anthony Michael Lumpkins-Hood (and their respective families), it's almost a competitive sport—though truly, everyone wins.

It began–like many Halloween stories–with skeletons. The Aden family had recently moved into their new home when they noticed a giant skeleton hanging in a neighbor's front yard across the way. (Their backyard actually faces the neighbor's front.) Inspired, they jumped right in.

Aden narrates a now-viral Instagram video, "The people behind us put out their 12-foot skeleton. So of course we had to put out ours and add a little sign that said, 'Is that all you got?' So we were hoping to see that they'd retaliate. This was yesterday. Well, today we look out there and this is what they had to say back."

👩‍👧‍👦 Parents say this 1-minute check-in with their kids has made weeknights so much better

They call it a 'mini ritual' with 3 easy prompts.

By Emily Shiffer

Connecting with kids after long days of school can be tough for parents. And the default question, "How was school today?" can often fall flat.

But asking kids questions beyond boring go-to's can deepen your relationship and help you feel closer to one another—and it can take less than one minute.

On the Reddit subforum r/Parenting, parents shared their tried and true "mini ritual" that they have developed with their nine-year-old to help other parents connect with their kids.