So you want to write? Don’t bother answering that: everyone wants to write, because writing is non-stop fun. But getting started can be intimidating — and that’s where positive thinking comes in. Celebrated philosophers from Dale Carnegie to Anthony Robbins agree: when it comes to unleashing your creative genius, it’s all a matter of mindset. Once you’ve leapt from your bed bright and early, start with a few affirmations: according to no less a source than a page I found on the internet, Henry James began each day by standing in front of a mirror, fists clenched, shouting “I am the best writer!” several dozen times. Then grab a coffee, power up the laptop, and wait for inspiration. Waiting for inspiration is crucial, because you don’t want to write just anything — it’s got to be really good. If inspiration is slow in arriving, though, don’t worry: simply invite the Universe to fulfill your desire to write, and the Universe will obey, due to the Law of Attraction. (Some people are skeptical about this, but that’s because they haven’t read The Secret. It’s a law, for goodness' sake! Also: Jesus, the Buddha and Leonardo da Vinci all endorsed it. It says so in The Secret.)

by Sarah Scire Oliver Burkeman wants you to stop trying to be happy. In his wry, wide-ranging book The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking, Burkeman challenges the “cult of optimism” and writes that “it is our constant efforts to eliminate the negative—insecurity, uncertainty, failure, or sadness—that is what causes us to feel so insecure, anxious, uncertain, or unhappy.” To celebrate the book’s stateside publication, the award-winning journalist agreed to answer a few questions about his thought-provoking, often counterintuitive approach to achieving happiness. Sarah Scire: One of the book’s first chapters begins with you conducting an experiment in confronting the worst-case scenario. What did you learn—and when else have you used this method? (I’m thinking here of your tweet about preparing for the All Things Considered interview.)