How Joy Helps Save the Planet

Choosing joy over guilt and shame can make climate-friendly habits easier to sustain while improving your own well-being along the way.

Summary: Fear may grab our attention, but research suggests joy is what helps us make meaningful, sustainable climate choices. On this episode of The Science of Happiness, discover how small shifts can have a big impact. Scientists Elizabeth Dunn and Jiaying Zhao share how reframing climate action around happiness instead of guilt can help us build healthier habits, strengthen our communities, and care for the Earth.

How To Do This Practice:

1. Choose one everyday habit: Pick a part of your routine like eating, commuting, shopping, or reducing food waste where you'd like to make a climate-friendly change.
2. Focus on what you can add: Instead of thinking about what to give up, ask yourself what you can enjoy more, such as eating more seasonal produce, walking outdoors, or spending time tending a garden.
3. Notice how it feels: As you try your new habit, pay attention to moments of enjoyment, connection, pride, or calm. Positive emotions help make new behaviors stick.
4. Make it easy: Remove small barriers that get in your way. For example, keep fresh fruits and vegetables where you’ll see them first so they don’t go bad, and pack light when you fly to avoid the extra carbon emissions from checked bags.
5. Share it with someone else: Invite a friend or family member to join you or tell them about a climate-friendly habit you've enjoyed. Positive experiences are more likely to spread than guilt.
6. Reflect on the impact: Consider how your small change affected both your well-being and the planet, and choose one joyful habit you'd like to continue.

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.

Today’s Guests:

DR. ELIZABETH DUNN is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, who studies the ways that time, money and technology affect our wellbeing.

Learn more about Dr. Elizabeth Dunn here: https://dunn.psych.ubc.ca/

DR. JIAYING ZHAO is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at UBC, Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Sustainability, and UBC Sauder Distinguished Scholar.

Learn more about Dr. Jiaying Zhao here: https://psych.ubc.ca/profile/jiaying-zhao/

Related Science of Happiness episodes:

Climate, Hope, & Science Series: https://tinyurl.com/pb27rep

The Case for Hope, with Rebecca Solnit: https://tinyurl.com/4cj3umbz

Related Happiness Break episodes:

How To Ground Yourself in Nature: https://tinyurl.com/25ftdxpm

How to Be in Harmony in Nature—Wherever You Are, With Yuria Celidwen: https://tinyurl.com/5n6pfsn2

Message us or leave a comment on Instagram @scienceofhappinesspod. E-mail us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

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Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/2s4ft9fc