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Have you tried listening to happiness podcasts? Trust me. They will never break your day, they’ll only make it.
Happiness is an abstract concept. It could mean different things to different people. What is happiness for me might not be the definition of happiness for you.
But regardless, the feeling it gives to every person in the world is the same—a fleeting and incomparable bliss.
According to an article from Happiness International Organization, being happy means being contented and satisfied with what you have. The true meaning of happiness comes when you find beauty in all the things you possess.
When you’re happy, your brain is fueled with positivity. And when you have a positive outlook on life, you become more productive and successful.
There is only one problem: Sometimes, when life decides to throw challenges at us, we forget how simply being happy can somehow alleviate the stress we’re feeling. We tend only to see what’s there to be lonely and sad about.
Well, that doesn’t have to be the case. There is a way to remind yourself that happiness is everywhere and that you just have to find it: happiness podcasts!
(Side note: One proven way to improve your happiness and life satisfaction is to focus on goals that truly matter. To get started, check out this FREE printable worksheet and a step-by-step process that will help you set effective SMART goals.).
This article will provide you with the 19 best happiness podcasts that are on the air today. Whatever you’re feeling, whether overjoyed or lonely, these podcasts can surely brighten up your day.
Let's get to it.
What You Will Learn
- 1. Happier with Gretchen Rubin
- 2. The Good Life Project
- 3. TED Radio Hour
- 4. The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes
- 5. 10% Happier with Dan Harris
- 6. Invisibilia
- 7. The Science of Happiness
- 8. The Tony Robbins Podcast
- 9. Bulletproof Radio
- 10. The One You Feed
- 11. The Tim Ferriss Show
- 12. Stuff You Should Know
- 13. The Daily Boost
- 14. The Ziglar Show
- 15. Earn Your Happy with Lori Harder
- 16. The Positive Psychology Podcast
- 17. Live Happy Now
- 18. Adventures in Happiness
- 19. The Kindness Project
- A final word on these happiness podcasts
1. Happier with Gretchen Rubin
Gretchen Rubin is an influential and thought-provoking author and podcast host who focuses on happiness and human nature. She is a highly sought-out professional, and you will notice that her name often pops up as a guest host in podcasts on this list. Her podcast updates every Monday with new ideas and conversations surrounding how to live a happier life. Listeners appreciate her ability to simplify and explain complex ideas using humor and clarity, making her work accessible to a large audience.
She has written “New York Times” bestsellers, including “The Four Tendencies” and “The Happiness Project,” but she gets more personal in her podcast as she discusses happiness and healthy habits along with her sister, Elizabeth Craft.
Gretchen draws from leading science, age-old wisdom, pop culture, and her personal experiences to examine how people can live their lives with more happiness, productivity, and creativity.
2. The Good Life Project
This podcast airs new episodes every Monday and is hosted by Jonathan and Stephanie Fields.
This couple has raw and honest discussions about living life to the fullest and living with a sense of meaning. They share inspiring stories and have open and frank conversations with iconic trailblazers such as Elizabeth Gilbert, Brene Brown, Seth Godin, and Happier with Gretchen Rubin host Gretchen Rubin, as well as with normal, everyday guests.
Every story they tell is candid and fascinating, prompting listeners to tune in every week.
3. TED Radio Hour
TED talks have become the “go-to” place to hear inspiring and educational speeches from international experts in a wide variety of fields.
This podcast is a co-production of NPR and TED and offers listeners new ideas every Thursday. Each show is based on a TED talk and carries a theme, such as what people believe to be the source of happiness.
The show is hosted by award-winning journalist and correspondent Guy Raz, and listeners get an in-depth look at some of the innovative ideas and new approaches that influential people in the world are bringing to the TED Talk stage. Its guests include professionals such as psychologists, CEOs, neuroscientists, athletes, and journalists.
Some episodes of this podcast include “Why Aren't We More Compassionate?” and “Is It Enough to Be Politically Correct?”
4. The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes
Hosted by Lewis Howes, this podcast encourages people to find their true passion in life and dedicate their time to doing what they love.
Howes, a “NYT” bestselling author, offers his listeners inspiring stories every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday from influential people such as world-class athletes, CEOs, and celebrities.
Howes uses his platform to mentor others and spread his positivity to as many people as possible. Some of the episodes include “The Secret to Happiness” and “Happiness Through Hardship,” and all aim to give listeners tools and skills to maximize their potential and have the lives that they want.
Some topics that are often covered on this show include inspiration, business, entrepreneurship, health, and relationships. This podcast will help you find your sense of purpose if that is something you struggle with.
5. 10% Happier with Dan Harris
Dan Harris, who is an ABC newscaster who suffered from a panic attack live on “Good Morning America,” hosts this podcast, where he discusses his newfound appreciation for meditation. He has guests (including neuroscientists, meditation professionals, psychologists, and leading health experts) come on his show to talk about how to train your mind.
Harris wrote the bestselling book “10% Happier,” which led to the creation of an app and eventually this podcast. He explores whether it is possible to go beyond the 10% happiness that he suggests in his title, and questions if people can be ambitious while still striving for enlightenment. New episodes are available every Tuesday morning.
6. Invisibilia
This podcast is produced and hosted by Alix Spiegel and Hanna Rosin, and comes out with updates on an irregular basis. Beginning in early 2015, the hosts explore the intangible elements of life that shape human behavior. Forces such as ideas, beliefs, feelings, and emotions are examined through narrative storytelling that incorporates science and aims to help people see their lives in a new light.
Some of the episodes include “The Secret History of Thoughts,” “Future Self,” and “True You.” The show maintained a consistent Top 10 ranking for several months after its initial episode and has continued to hold a strong following.
7. The Science of Happiness
This podcast is hosted by award-winning professor Dacher Keltner and co-produced with Public Radio International. It aims to provide listeners with research, tips, and inspiring stories. Guests such as Inside Out director Pete Docter, ABC News’s Dan Harris, and author Michael Pollan have been featured on the show to test practices like gratitude, mindfulness, meditation, self-compassion, and forgiveness in their daily lives, and then recap their experiences with well-being researchers.
The hosts also teach their listeners about scientifically researched strategies to live a happier, more meaningful life. The show updates every Thursday, and has produced episodes such as “How to Find Your Best Possible Self” and “Quieting Your Inner Critic.”
[Like these podcasts? Check out 17 more motivational podcasts to inspire your day.]
8. The Tony Robbins Podcast
Tony Robbins is considered by many to be the premier voice of the self-help movement.
In his podcast, Robbins shares helpful tips and strategies so his listeners can achieve better results in their personal and professional lives. He updates the podcast every week or two and features notable guests to have an open and honest conversation about self-improvement. Some of his popular guests have included Dana White, Gretchen Rubin, Daniel Pink, and Robyn O’ Brien.
Listeners appreciate the motivational truths that can be taken away from the episodes in this podcast. People find Tony's intensity to be inspirational.
9. Bulletproof Radio
Hosted by Dave Asprey, Bulletproof Radio strives to use a wide variety of professionals and technologies and techniques to improve as a human being. Using knowledge from doctors, scientists, Olympic nutritionists, meditation gurus, and over a million dollars worth of personal self-experiments, Asprey aims to explain the simplest things that people can do to improve themselves in every way.
In his ideal world, people can take control of their lives and use their biochemistry, bodies, and minds in unison to be able to work at levels much higher than expected, without becoming sick or stressed out. Follow along every Tuesday and Thursday as Dave Asprey and his guests give you everything you need to improve your physical and mental states.
10. The One You Feed
This podcast is created and produced by longtime friends Eric Zimmer and Chris Forbes. They began this show to discuss the subject of “creating a life worth living”—both for themselves and for their listeners. They believe it takes a conscious and constant effort to create a life that is worth living.
Eric and Chris address how people are able to keep themselves moving in the right direction through open discussions of their habits, motivation, meditation, insight, depression, anxiety, happiness, mental health, and philosophy.
Their approachable conversational style and ability to bring their own life experiences into their discussion makes this podcast a helpful resource for learning life skills. Eric and Chris post updates every Tuesday.
11. The Tim Ferriss Show
Tim Ferriss, a well-known self-help professional, releases episodes of his podcast every Thursday, where he discusses topics ranging from broad personal development to your specific morning routine.
Tim teaches his listeners the habits of successful people with a wide range of backgrounds, such as investors, celebrities, CEOs, chess players, and sports professionals.
He finds tools and tricks that these world-class performers use that his listeners can adopt to improve their own lives. Some well-known guests he has had on his show include Arnold Schwarzenegger, LeBron James, and Tony Robbins. As of 2018, this podcast had over 300 million downloads.
12. Stuff You Should Know
Stuff You Should Know is an award-winning podcast hosted by Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant, who are both writers at HowStuffWorks. With new releases every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, Josh and Chuck educate their listeners on a large range of topics, with a specific focus on the way things work, and the addition of a comedic twist.
The episodes on this podcast are well-researched and cover a variety of topics in subjects like science, conspiracy theories, history, urban legends, and pop culture. Josh and Chuck discuss a topic in such a way that, by the end of the episode, their listeners walk away with basic working knowledge.
Some of their most popular episodes have been on tipping in restaurants, hangovers, pinball, death, cheese, and Barbie.
13. The Daily Boost
The Daily Boost is a motivation podcast that offers a wide variety of personal development strategies and acknowledges common sense logic. Hosted by Scott Smith, this show combines lessons, personal experience, and humor to create a new type of motivation podcast that can fit into listeners' lives.
Scott Smith offers a fresh, funny, and personable dose of motivation to help listeners make their lives more meaningful. This quick, nine-minute podcast is updated every Monday, giving you the perfect boost to start your week. This might be the right podcast for you if you want to get to the next level in your life but are unsure how to get there.
14. The Ziglar Show
Ziglar, a world-class motivator, releases new episodes of his podcast bi-weekly to inspire people and equip listeners with the tools they need to move ahead of their current realities. Hosted by Kevin Miller and Zig Ziglar, this show addresses the unique things that successful people do in order to achieve greatness that everyday people can learn from and adopt into their own lives.
The hosts ask guests questions regarding how they became successful and how they have overcome challenges. Some of the episodes include “How Self-Aware Are You?” “Habits – Rick Hanson on Being Enough,” “How to Gain a Positive Outlook on Life,” and “Simply Tracking Your Daily Activities Will Increase Your Results.”
15. Earn Your Happy with Lori Harder
Lori Harder is fitness, self-improvement, and mindfulness expert who offers her followers practical tools to encourage sustainable physical health, emotional well-being, and financial freedom. She has helped countless people transform their lives, empower themselves, gain financial independence, and gain a new appreciation for themselves and their lives.
In her podcast, Lori offers all of the inside tips and tools that one may need to break through their fears, connect their mind and body, and get focused so they can improve their life, relationships, and career. This podcast updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and has hosted noteworthy guests such as Aaron Alexander, Olivia June, and Tracy O’Malley.
16. The Positive Psychology Podcast
Kristen Truemph is a positive psychology guru who hopes to make a significant impact on her work by helping people flourish.
In her podcast, Kristen talks about the things in life that truly make people happy, such as the ability to appreciate beauty, gratitude, and positive emotions.
She hosts guests to have discussions about happiness, including doctors, authors, and psychologists. She updates her podcast about once a month.
17. Live Happy Now
Join the editors of “Live Happy” magazine every Tuesday to learn about some proven ideas and tips to help you live a life with more meaning and happiness. The hosts conduct interviews with leaders in the positive psychology industry, such as Gretchen Rubin, Dr. Sasha Heinz, and Nick Ortner. Some categories that are often covered in this podcast include home, inspiration, the “Live Happy” magazine, happiness, science, and work.
18. Adventures in Happiness
“New York Times” bestselling author Jessica Ortner is on a mission to help other people be able to uncover their best selves by reducing stress and anxiety. After a successful weight loss journey, Ortner began teaching other people “tapping,” which she attributes a lot of her success to.
Some of the episodes on this show include “Eating for Happiness with Julie Daniluk,” “How to Live a Good Life When You Feel Like You’ve Lost Your Spark,” and “How to Get Unstuck and Find Your Flow“.
This podcast updates once or twice a month.
19. The Kindness Project
Join father and daughter duo Chris and Charlotte on their podcast every Wednesday as they explore how people can be kinder to one another.
Each week, they share stories of kindness and illustrate how being kind to other people can help you live a happier life. The team welcomes stories from listeners to share on their show.
A final word on these happiness podcasts
They say that happiness is a choice, and I can’t help but agree. Life is an everyday battle. It’s how we fight these battles with a cheerful heart that makes the difference.
To accompany you in being happy while struggling through life, try listening to an episode or two from each of the happiness podcasts above. Each of them has its own style, format, and structure, but they are all excellent sources of happiness.
When you find the best among this list, subscribe to it and enjoy listening to make your life more happy and meaningful.
Finally, one proven way to improve your happiness and life satisfaction is to focus on goals that truly matter. To get started, check out this FREE printable worksheet and a step-by-step process that will help you set effective SMART goals.
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