Top Greater Good Articles of 2025: Most Popular Picks

Discover the 20 most widely read articles from Greater Good over the past year, as determined by Google Analytics data, along with our team's selections for the 10 standout pieces that may not have garnered as many views but deserve recognition from 2025. Top 20 Most Popular Articles 1. 14 Movies

Discover the 20 most widely read articles from Greater Good over the past year, as determined by Google Analytics data, along with our team's selections for the 10 standout pieces that may not have garnered as many views but deserve recognition from 2025.

Top 20 Most Popular Articles

1. 14 Movies That Highlight the Best in Humanity: 2025, by Sahar Habib Ghazi, Maryam Abdullah, Zaid Jilani, Joanne Chen, Jason Marsh, Katherine Reynolds Lewis, Margaret Golden, Criss Cuervo, Jill Suttie, Jeremy Adam Smith, and Kia Afcari: The annual Greater Goodies celebrate films released in the previous year that powerfully showcase the finest qualities and virtues inherent in human nature, inspiring readers to appreciate these cinematic gems.

2. What Matters Most to People Who Are Dying, by Jill Suttie and Diane Button: A recently published book delves into how confronting the inevitability of death enables individuals to identify their true priorities, offering profound insights and valuable lessons applicable to everyday living for everyone.

3. Seven Ways to Shift Your Difficult Emotions, by Jill Suttie: Drawing from the latest research, a fresh book provides practical strategies for handling challenging feelings more adeptly, emphasizing techniques that promote emotional management without resorting to suppression or denial.

"Engaging in conversations about death is essentially exploring what it means to truly live. By gaining clarity on your deepest priorities and what holds the greatest significance as life draws to a close, you empower yourself to embrace the present in a more intentional and enriched manner."

4. When You Feel Alone, Try This Practice, by Kira Newman, Jill Suttie, and Shuka Kalantari: Overcoming feelings of isolation can prove challenging, as highlighted by former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy's observations. Fortunately, incorporating simple daily practices can significantly enhance our sense of connection and belonging with others.

5. Seven Ways to Bring More Meaning to Your Life, by Jill Suttie: According to a psychologist's perspective, reflecting on fundamental existential inquiries and aligning with personal core values serves as a powerful pathway to infusing daily existence with greater purpose, fulfillment, and overall satisfaction.

6. How Forgiveness Changes You and Your Brain, by Emiliana Simon-Thomas: Exploring the brain's three key neural systems engaged in the forgiveness process reveals how cultivating this practice not only transforms personal outlook but also enhances well-being across various life domains.

7. Six Steps to Decluttering Your Life, by Beth Kurland: Systematically organizing possessions and letting go of unnecessary items offers a rewarding approach to improving emotional state, while simultaneously nurturing attitudes of gratitude and present-moment awareness through mindfulness.

8. Twelve Steps to Self-Forgiveness, by Fred Luskin and Lyndon Harris: When you've inadvertently caused harm to another, a structured journey exists toward reconciliation, inner emotional restoration, self-acceptance, and ultimately achieving a state of inner peace and harmony.

9. How Poetry Changes You and Your Brain, by Mable Buchanan Palmer: Cutting-edge studies demonstrate that immersing oneself in poetry fosters improvements in mood, physical health, and interpersonal bonds, creating deeper feelings of happiness and mutual connection among people.

10. The Six Points of Connection We All Need, by Aaron Hurst and Nancy Connolly: Scientific findings underscore that engaging in a diverse array of social interactions plays a crucial role in combating loneliness, while building stronger community ties and a profound sense of inclusion and belonging.

"At its core, emotion regulation encompasses the various methods we employ to influence our emotional experiences, enabling us to cultivate healthier relationships, greater personal well-being, and progress toward our aspirations."
―Marc Brackett, What Does an Emotionally Regulated Adult Look Like?

11. 16 Ways People Find Purpose Around the World, by Jill Suttie: Recent investigations reveal striking commonalities across global cultures in the sources from which individuals derive purpose, illustrating universal patterns that contribute to human fulfillment regardless of geographic or cultural boundaries.

12. 10 Scientific Tips to Make You Better at Conversation, by Kira Newman: A newly released book scrutinizes common misconceptions surrounding effective dialogue, unpacking the science-backed principles that truly elevate our conversational skills and interactions with others.

13. Are We Getting Self-Care Wrong?, by Shanna B. Tiayon: Authentic self-care practices equip us to address stress constructively and sustainably; however, many habitual comfort-seeking behaviors fail to meet these beneficial criteria and may even counterproductive in the long term.

14. What’s Driving Political Violence in America?, by Jeremy Adam Smith and Zaid Jilani: Contemporary studies investigate the underlying factors fueling the upsurge in political aggression, while proposing actionable measures individuals and communities can implement to mitigate and reverse this troubling trend.

15. How to Be Happier in Your Working Life, by Kia Afcari and Arthur Brooks: Grounded in empirical evidence, a new publication outlines targeted approaches to infuse professional endeavors with increased affection, pleasure, contentment, and deeper significance, extending benefits to personal life as well.

16. What Does an Emotionally Regulated Adult Look Like?, by Kira Newman and Marc Brackett: In his latest book, Marc Brackett illuminates the transformative potential of mastering emotion regulation, a vital skill that empowers individuals to construct more resilient, rewarding, and balanced existences.

"The relentless barrage of simultaneous communications across expanding networks taxes our cognitive capacity, diminishing opportunities for reflective thought, empathetic understanding, and genuine mutual comprehension."
―Nicholas Carr, How Social Media Brings Out the Worst in Us

17. The Three Styles of Curiosity, by Kira Newman: Innovative research identifies distinct patterns in how people pursue knowledge, shedding light on their implications for individual happiness, societal dynamics, and collective progress.

18. How Social Media Brings Out the Worst in Us, by Jill Suttie and Nicholas Carr: A compelling new book contends that the net effects of social media platforms lean heavily toward detriment, suggesting that moderation or reduction in usage could lead to improved mental and physical health outcomes.

19. How to Help Your Kids Regulate Their Emotions, by Kira Newman and Marc Brackett: Marc Brackett critiques prevailing societal shortcomings in emotional education for youth and advocates for superior methodologies to equip children with effective tools for navigating their feelings throughout life.

20. Feel Like Something’s Missing? Try to Live an Interesting Life, by Jill Suttie and Shigehiro Oishi: Presenting an intriguing alternative framework, a recent book posits that prioritizing intrigue and novelty in daily living may fulfill existential voids more effectively than pursuits of mere happiness or profound meaning alone.

Editors’ Selections

Our editorial team surveyed staff members for their preferred articles from the previous year, compiling this list of additional compelling reads ranked by vote tally that merit your attention.

1. What Can Artificial Intelligence Teach Us About Human Love?, by Sahar Habib Ghazi: Emerging studies indicate that AI-driven companions offer substantial emotional sustenance, closeness, and developmental benefits, yet they simultaneously pose risks to authentic human relational bonds and interactions.

2. How Research Cuts Are Hurting the Science of a Meaningful Life, by Jill Suttie: The entirety of content featured by Greater Good relies fundamentally on rigorous scientific inquiry, which now faces serious jeopardy from funding reductions and institutional challenges.

3. How Science and Culture Are Under Attack—and What We Can Do About It, by Jeremy Adam Smith: Collective action becomes imperative to safeguard vital institutions—including research labs, educational systems, higher learning establishments, public libraries, journalistic outlets, and cultural museums—from governmental encroachments and threats.

"Nations prioritizing unchecked economic expansion risk neglecting critical contributors to citizen satisfaction, including workplace excellence, individual autonomy, robust interpersonal networks, and enriching affective encounters."
―Mohsen Joshanloo, Why Some Countries Are Happier Than Their Wealth Suggests

4. What Role Does Pleasure Play in Happiness?, by Todd B. Kashdan and Robert Biswas-Diener: Recognizing happiness as a complex, multidimensional phenomenon cautions against dismissing sensory pleasure and delight as superficial or excessively indulgent pursuits unworthy of consideration.

5. Why Some Countries Are Happier Than Their Wealth Suggests, by Mohsen Joshanloo: National prosperity metrics alone inadequately predict populace joy levels; notably, select economically modest nations excel remarkably in fostering widespread contentment through alternative strengths.

6. How to Recover After Acting Against Your Own Values, by Diana Divecha and Robin Stern: Moral injury arises from participating in or witnessing deeds that profoundly contradict one's ethical principles, inflicting deep psychological wounds that demand targeted healing processes.

7. How Alternative Housing Can Bring Us Happiness and Community, by Courtney E. Martin: With traditional nuclear family structures waning in prevalence across the U.S., innovative communal living models emerge as promising avenues for rediscovering vital social linkages and mutual support systems.

8. What Is Love? Scientists Have Answers—But They Don’t All Agree, by Katherine Reynolds Lewis: Scholars from varied fields have endeavored to conceptualize, classify, quantify, and dissect the enigmatic essence of love, yielding a tapestry of sometimes converging, often divergent conclusions.

9. We’re Missing the Good News About Youth Mental Health, by Anya Kamenetz: Amid prevalent narratives of concern, substantial encouraging developments in adolescent psychological well-being remain underreported and warrant greater public awareness and celebration.

10. How the Sunk Cost Fallacy Can Drive Bad Decisions, by Elizabeth Svoboda: Heightened investment in prior choices intensifies aversion to abandonment; countering this pervasive cognitive distortion involves rigorously evaluating the prospective expenses of persistence versus pivot.