University of Wisconsin professor and pioneering mindfulness researcher Richard Davidson writes in Huffington Post about why we should think of well-being as a skill we can learn and improve, rather than a state, and “shift our thinking about well-being from a static “thing” to a set of skills that can be learned and cultivated over time.” Indeed, we should think of “exercising our minds” and psychological abilities “much in the same way we exercise our bodies.”

This doesn’t mean brain training with games, but practicing things that contribute to one’s happiness: consciously doing things that sustain positive emotion, help us rebound from negative emotion, build our capacity for mindfulness, and improve our ability to care for others.

Davidson and his colleagues have just released the third World Happiness Report, which yes is a thing.