It’s Act Happy Day! Here Are 5 Books About Happiness (and 10 about Toxic Positivity)

Posted on March 18, 2024

by Eric S

Launched 20 years ago by Dr. Dale Anderson, a surgeon at the Mayo Clinic with over 35 years of experience, Act Happy Day is a celebration and endorsement of exactly what you’d think: acting happy. Specifically, the idea of acting happy as a way to bring about positive change, especially when one is feeling less than great. While Dr. Anderson advocates for a 15-minute belly laugh at the start of one’s day (which seems like a big ask that early in the morning), there’s plenty of science to support this “fake it ‘til you make it” approach. It’s tough to knock being happy, and we won’t, but it’s difficult to look at the idea of acting happy without thinking of how it can be taken too far, to the point of Toxic Positivity. So, on this Act Happy Day, we’ve selected some books to help you get in a more positive mindset. And if that doesn’t sit well with your cynical sensibilities, we’ve got books for you, too.

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