Happiness is a personal problem. Or so it may seem. Consider the self-help section. A library of recent books offers just the right mindset, self-care regimen, or practical hack for troubled souls who, presumably, hope that one more piece of advice might be just what they need. Self-declared experts come at the subject of happiness from any number of angles, producing volumes of bland prose and vacuous counsel. The trick is not to give too much attention to negative thoughts or trivial obligations. Seek out new experiences. Speak and think positive thoughts into the world. Or, as one recent piece of evangelical schlock advises, wash your face. Professional advice-givers have extracted from stoicism, neuroscience, mind-cure spirituality, and the scriptures for different concoctions of therapeutic techniques.
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