Making Happiness a Conscious Choice and Lifelong Practice with Karen Guggenheim

The happiness we used to know was like a reward, something that shows up once life finally goes our way. But what if that moment never comes? What if life hands you unimaginable loss instead, and you're left trying to piece together who you are and what comes next? The truth is, happiness isn’t a finish line. It’s a conscious choice, and a lifelong practice. And no one embodies that truth more powerfully than Karen Guggenheim.

Karen Guggenheim is the founder and CEO of WOHASU®, the organization behind the World Happiness Summit. A leading voice in global well-being, she is recognized for turning personal adversity into a powerful mission: helping individuals and organizations thrive through science-based strategies for happiness. 

Most recently, Karen led the expansion of WOHASU to the United Nations and global cities, advancing the conversation on mental health and well-being at the highest levels. Karen is the author of Cultivating Happiness: Overcome trauma and positively transform your life.

In this episode of the Happiness Squad Podcast, Ashish Kothari and Karen Guggenheim, explore what it means to treat happiness not as a fleeting emotion, but as a conscious, lifelong practice.

Things you will also learn in this episode:

• Defining happiness as a framework, not a feeling

• The misunderstood nature of happiness

• The urgent need for systemic change in how we lead, work, and educate

• Why forgiveness is the most challenging but transformational pillar of personal growth

• What every leader, parent, and teacher needs to hear about happiness

This episode will remind you that happiness is not something you wait for, but something you build, even in the aftermath of heartbreak. Give it a listen, and you’ll never think about happiness the same way again.

Resources:

• Karen Guggenheim: http://karenguggenheim.com/ 

• World Happiness Summit: https://worldhappinesssummit.com/

• Wellbeing Leadership Certification by World Happiness Summit: https://worldhappinesssummit.com/wellbeing-leadership-certification/ 

• World Wellbeing Policy Forum: https://wohasu.com/portfolio/world-wellbeing-policy-forum/ 

• Conscious Entrepreneur Summit: https://events.humanitix.com/2025-conscious-entrepreneur-summit 

• The Bridge to Happiness by Karen Guggenheim at TEDxMiami: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcgJo9IGxxk 

• World Happiness Summit on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-mbWbPUjzHCVQ0iU3rmCsQ 

• Dr. Fred Luskin - Forgiveness and Happiness from WOHASU: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaklxaKGWNU&pp=0gcJCdgAo7VqN5tD 

• Truth and Reconciliation Commission with Desmond Tutu: https://www.theforgivenessproject.com/stories-library/desmond-tutu/ 

Books:

• Cultivating Happiness by Karen Guggenheim: https://amzn.eu/d/hla8Eey 

• The Book of Forgiving: The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World by Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu: https://a.co/d/0GYRdSx 

• Hardwired for Happiness by Ashish Kothari:https://amzn.eu/d/1ZdsT4g