A general “law of least effort” applies to cognitive as well as physical exertion. The law asserts that if there are several ways of achieving the same goal, people will eventually gravitate to the least demanding course of action. In the economy of action, effort is a cost, and the acquisition of skill is driven by the balance of benefits and costs. Laziness is built deep into our nature.

The confidence that individuals have in their beliefs depends mostly on the quality of the story they can tell about what they see, even if they see little.

Mind is a machine for jumping to conclusions

It's a wonderful thing to be optimistic. It keeps you healthy and it keeps you resilient.

It's clear that policymakers and economists are going to be interested in the measurement of well-being primarily as it correlates with health; they also want to know whether researchers can validate subjective responses with physiological indices.

People are really happier with friends than they are with their families or their spouse or their child.

Most things that couples disagree upon aren't worth more than a day's combat.