Happiness Habits Discovered Through Psychotherapy and Brain Science Research
Helping you stay happy despite a cancer diagnosis

Happiness = positive emotions 〉 negative emotions
“Happiness is created by cultivating positive emotions and reducing negative ones.”

★ A book long-awaited by Korean teachers ★

Why are we so unhappy, even though we work hard? This book begins with this question.
Many people run tirelessly every day for success and happiness, but their hearts are filled with anxiety and depression.
The author, who has taught education and how to create happiness to over 300,000 people over the past several decades, points out the essence of happiness that people often misunderstand in this book.
Happiness isn't something you achieve by setting bigger, more ambitious goals, but rather something that grows from the habit of cultivating positive emotions and reducing negative ones in your daily life.


The author has studied a wide range of disciplines, including psychotherapy, counseling theory, educational psychology, cognitive psychology, evolutionary psychology, behavioral economics, and brain science, to find ways to create a happy life.
Also, based on this, I have met and counseled countless people and witnessed changes in their real lives.
In this book, he summarizes and introduces five happiness habits he has discovered over time.

The author has also faced many hardships throughout his life, most notably being diagnosed with cancer in March 2025.
Even then, the driving force that allowed me to remain unshaken and find new challenges with a positive mindset and maintain happiness was this very 'habit of happiness.'
The happiness habits you'll discover in this book aren't just theories; they're practical guidelines that will transform your life.

I realized that I could be happy when I felt positive emotions more strongly than negative ones, and thanks to learning and practicing the happiness habits that make this possible, I was able to feel happy and write and publish a book even in the difficult situation of being diagnosed with cancer.
The five happiness habits presented in this book and the content contained within each habit are designed to help increase positive emotions and reduce negative emotions.
These are things I have actually put into practice and applied while counseling tens of thousands of students, and they have proven effective.
Therefore, if we properly understand and practice this content, we can create happiness even in difficult situations, and the happiness we create will lead us to a successful life.

--- p.15

There are times when we realize new facts and knowledge in the process of striving to live a better life.
At times like that, I often think, 'I wish I had known then what I know now.'
Then, you feel incompetent for not knowing what you know now, and that incompetence leads to frustration and self-reproach, which makes you depressed.
The joy of learning new knowledge that will help you in life is gone, and you are filled with only negative thoughts, making it difficult to focus on what you are doing.
When that happens, if you shout, "I'm glad I know now," and try to change based on what you've learned, a new life will unfold, no matter what your situation or age.

--- p.59

In the example above, Socrates uses questions to help his students realize the limitations of their thinking, and by synthesizing the answers they provide, he helps them arrive at a more precise definition of the concept.
Therefore, if you imagine that there is a Socrates (hereinafter referred to as 'inner sorcerer') within you and utilize the process of asking and answering questions with the inner sorcerer, you can clarify your thoughts and find irrational beliefs and distorted thoughts.
Then, by asking and answering questions again, you determine whether your irrational beliefs have logical evidence, are feasible, and help you achieve your life goals.
Through this, you can change rigid and unrealistic, irrational beliefs such as 'must, always, absolutely must' and 'must never, absolutely not' into flexible thoughts.
--- p.96

The first skill that challenging tasks require is self-control.
In order to avoid being helplessly dragged around by the demands of others, you need to first choose for yourself and then have the self-control to focus on solving the task by regulating your thoughts, emotions, and actions so that you can solve the task you have chosen.
The ‘awareness and deep breathing’ explained in ‘Happiness Habit 2’ is the most fundamental habit for developing self-control.
If you notice yourself reaching for your phone out of boredom while studying and take a deep breath, you can put the brakes on your phone-grabbing behavior and refocus on what you were doing.

--- p.126

When you feel like throwing down everything you're working on and running away, the strategy you need is to 'act as if'.
When I'm tired of writing and want to run away, I picture myself publishing a book, standing in an art hall with excellent lighting and sound, and giving a lecture, breathing together with the audience.
If I stand in the middle of the living room as if I were a lecturer, gesturing and lecturing as if I were giving a real lecture, I can feel the audience's enthusiasm and gain strength to write again.

--- p.142

Because reflection focuses on mistakes and shortcomings, it stimulates negative emotions such as self-reproach, frustration, guilt, and feelings of incompetence.
When you perform a challenging task and then reflect on it, which triggers negative emotions, you may lose the desire to do the challenging task itself.
This is because the reflection you do to improve on a challenging task can lead you to avoid performing the challenging task itself because it continually points out your mistakes and errors.
Specific and positive feedback (negative, positive, negative) focuses on improving what you did well, identifying areas for improvement and finding ways to do so, and ultimately finding new, challenging tasks.
So, positive thinking helps us to better execute challenging tasks, and it not only gives us a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment, but also helps us find new challenging tasks.

--- p.160

Using this principle, when you take the subway or bus after class to a study cafe or home, think in your head, "What did we learn in class today?", "How was it structured?", "Why did we have to do it that way?", and draw a table of contents in your head. When you think of a concept in the table of contents, structure it around what, how, and why and recall it.

--- p.191

What difference does it make to declare, "I chose it"? Humans have a natural desire for autonomy: to choose for themselves, to focus on their chosen endeavors, and to excel at them.
So, when someone else tells you to do something, you get annoyed and do it half-heartedly, but when you choose something because you like it, you want to do it well.
To do a good job, you need to concentrate, so what you need at this time is self-control.
Even when doing something you have to do, if you declare, "I chose it," and strive to find and solve challenging tasks, you will feel joy and the thrill of accomplishment in the process, which will increase your self-control and self-efficacy.
Surprisingly, as you live, you will experience that the skills you develop while solving challenging tasks become the foundation for taking on new challenges.

--- p.215

I started my first lecture with, “Welcome to the National Health Club.”
I shared my experience and told him that it was the best gym that allowed me to wake up at 6 in the morning and go to bed at 10 at night, and that it provided clothing, food, and a salary, and that it allowed me to work out. I encouraged him to quit smoking if he could while training, and if he couldn't, to at least try to achieve his goal of building up his physical strength.
Because mental training was conducted for all trainees of each rank, at least 700 people took the course at one time.
Even at that moment, I had no idea that I would be making a living by giving lectures.
If it weren't for that time, I wouldn't have had the experience of lecturing to that many people.
Thanks to my experience in the Air Force, when I started teaching at the academy, I was able to teach with ease and without feeling any fear of the podium.
Giving up easy and comfortable work and choosing difficult but meaningful work became the foundation of my entire life.
As expected, 'there is not a single moment to be wasted if you give your best effort.'

--- p.230