Today, there are between 10,000 and 20,000 mental health apps. In the U.S. alone, there are 1.2 million mental health providers. It’s now safe to say we’ve never been more aware of mental health. And yet, as awareness of mental health has gone up, the state of our mental health has gone down. There are many reasons why these are particularly challenging times: Natural disasters are intensifying, chronic diseases continue to climb, and AI is driving fear and anxiety about all aspects of life. But beyond the circumstances of the times we’re living in lies a more complicated existential crisis. Neglecting the truth that we’re more than material beings and have a fundamental need for spirituality means that we lack the supporting framework needed to handle the anxieties of this historic moment of disruption. In fact, studies show that spirituality can help us not just weather times of crisis but even emerge stronger than before. “The practice of religion, as opposed to its theological underpinnings, offers an impressive, time-tested array of psychological technologies that augment our biology,” writes David DeSteno, psychology professor at Northeastern University and author of How God Works: The Science Behind the Benefits of Religion. “To ignore that body of knowledge is to slow the progress of science itself and limit its potential benefit to humanity.” And people are hungry for a more awakened life. While religious affiliation has been dropping for decades, the spiritual impulse hasn’t. A recent U.S. Gallup poll found that 82% consider themselves religious, spiritual, or both. People have had valid reasons for leaving organized religion, but when we reject our innate predisposition for spirituality along with that, we deny ourselves the full, expansive possibilities of our humanity — as well as the tools to navigate the labyrinths of our lives. You can read more in my latest piece in @TIME:

In life, at all stages, timing is everything.

If staying home feels more appealing these days, you're not alone. As Diana Lind writes in The @WashingtonPost, we’re becoming a nation of homebodies, with Americans spending an average of 99 more minutes at home than they did in 2003, and young people are spending 124 more minutes at home than their counterparts two decades ago. That adds up to over 3 extra weeks a year spent inside. So what’s driving this shift? A rise in remote work, fewer public gathering spaces, and the skyrocketing ease of doing everything — from grocery shopping to entertainment — from our couches (or beds). And of course, there was the pandemic, which forced many to be at home and led to the adoption of a lot of technology that now makes it easier to stay there. And that has consequences. As Lind writes, "Time in the house is more likely to be time spent alone and sedentary, triggering two of Americans’ biggest mental and physical health problems — social isolation and lack of exercise."

What’s the last beautiful moment you had? Did you write it down or share it with someone? New research by my friend Jennifer @Aaker and her colleagues at @StanfordGSB shows that beautiful moments catalyze mindfulness, connection, and even memory preservation. Their study found that those who journaled about their beautiful (vs. happy) moments had a 137% richer visual perception of them and nearly 20% greater memory accuracy. Now, along with journalist @JennaAbdou, Jennifer is starting a project to help people do just that, leading a week-long Beautiful Summer Adventure. It’s about moving through your day looking for what lights you up — with each day being a portal into love, humor, grace, and serendipity. All you have to do is… 1) Find a buddy. 2) Text them a beautiful moment each day. I’m doing it with my daughter, Isabella – memorializing all the beautiful moments I’m sharing with my grandchildren (and Isabella’s nephew and niece), almost 3-year-old Alexander and his new 5-week-old sister Annabel. If this sounds inspiring, sign up here: And, remember to send this link to your buddy to subscribe as well!

This new partnership gives @Microsoft’s global workforce direct access — seamlessly through Teams — to Thrive Global’s behavior change engine, including science-backed Microsteps to build healthier habits, @Thrive Resets to reduce stress in 60 seconds, a Wellbeing Score to help users evaluate their health and chart a personalized path to progress, and Thrive’s content library to support further learning. By bringing Thrive’s platform to Microsoft, we’re scaling healthy behavior change that’s simple, accessible and even joyful. As Kristen Roby Dimlow put it, “We listened to what employees needed, and we’re excited to deliver a global platform that puts personalization, accessibility and simplicity first — alongside real, measurable outcomes.”

Very excited to announce @Microsoft has partnered with Thrive Global to bring our science-backed behavior change platform to their global workforce.

Good news: human intelligence has finally been dethroned by AI. Why is it good news? Because now that AI has surpassed us in intelligence, we’ll be more open to the truth that, in fact, what defines us is our capacity to connect with connect with our spiritual nature. Since the Enlightenment, we’ve made a category error, defining our humanity by our IQ. By displacing that pretender to the throne, AI has put into stark relief the need to reconnect with the infinity of our inner selves and the awe and wonder of our humanity. The shift being driven by AI is seismic — and what will make that journey less challenging is embracing the reality being revealed to us, exposing not our limitations but our limitless possibilities. You can read more in my latest newsletter #OnMyMind ⬇️

What is the opposite of loneliness? The feeling was beautifully described by Marina Keegan in her commencement essay in May 2012. She’d just graduated from Yale. She had a play about to be produced and was soon to take a job at The New Yorker. Five days after graduation, Marina was killed in a car accident. In the grief-filled days that followed, her essay “The Opposite of Loneliness" went viral across the world. Two years later, it was the centerpiece of a posthumously published best-selling collection of her essays and short stories. And now an anniversary edition is out, including previously unpublished pieces and a new foreword by novelist R.F. Kuang. As Marina wrote in the title essay, “We don’t have a word for the opposite of loneliness… It’s not quite love and it’s not quite community; it’s just this feeling that there are people, an abundance of people, who are in this together. Who are on your team. When the check is paid and you stay at the table. When it’s four a.m. and no one goes to bed. That night with the guitar. That night we can’t remember. That time we did, we went, we saw, we laughed, we felt.” Click here to get your copy:

This video from @Dreamforce 2014 is still just as relevant today. There’s a lot more awareness of the science of burnout and what it does to our productivity and health. We know more about the consequences of running on empty. And yet, applying that awareness to our daily lives and how we work and live has never been harder. Awareness is just the first step. What matters now is taking small steps each day.

Want to lower your risk of dementia and Alzheimer's? A major new study shows how: simple lifestyle changes. The study, published in JAMA, followed over 2,000 people between the ages of 60 and 79 as they made changes including exercise, a healthier diet, mental exercises and more social activities. The results: they were able to slow cognitive aging by one to two years — with improvements being seen regardless of genetic makeup, and even in those with a gene mutation tied to Alzheimer’s. The takeaway, says Laura Baker, professor at @WakeForest University School of Medicine and one of the study's leaders, is to “move more, sit less, add color to your plate, learn something new, and stay connected. Challenge yourself to do this on a regular basis.” You can read more here: