PROFILE

Oliver Burkeman

Oliver Burkeman writes about social psychology, self-help culture, productivity, and the science of happiness in This Column Will Change Your Life for The Guardian. His book The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking explores the upsides of negativity, uncertainty, failure, and imperfection. He is also the author of Four Thousand Weeks (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2021).

By Oliver Burkeman | October 13, 2021

Accepting our mortality helps us let go of busyness and focus on what’s most important to us in order to live a happier, more meaningful life.

By Oliver Burkeman | October 31, 2012

Can visualizing death make you happier? Research says yes. Here are four surprising ways to harness the power of negativity.

How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain

Free and online: Join us Thursday, Nov. 21, from 10:30–11:30 a.m. PT for a special conversation on the benefits of gratitude, along with practical techniques for people, and practitioners, to easily incorporate it into day-to-day life.

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Are You the A*Hole?

Worried that you might be wrong in that argument you're having? Intellectual humility can help.
How To Practice Gratitude When You’re Not Feeling Grateful (Encore)

One way to feel more thankful for things is to imagine life without them. Our guest tries a practice for seeing the bright side, even when you feel down.