His thesis, demonstrable by Tim Kasser of University of Illinois, among other social scientists, has important implications and practical direction, which Hari himself notes. Let's begin with family life: time in with you, parent, is more valuable than the new object of your child's affection. I can hear some of the parents objecting already, but there are ways to naturally cultivate this in kids-far less drastic than Kasser's approach "moving to a farm with a lot of goats, where they don't watch TV and don't get exposed to these toxic messages". I do believe that if you have a TV in the house, limited time with it and other electronic devices will help parents and kids stave off dominant messages that can lead to extrinsic motivations; and, more time in can connect parents to children with presence and meaning, which will shape what and whom children value. Children who learn to value individuals, ideas and passions, grow to be adults who will find a certain boredom in those impressed by their things, their physical appearance, where they attended college, and/or other "signifiers," which may be externally driven. Needless to say, these things can be interesting if there is a passion,a joy, a challenge, something more meaningful resulting from them. In couple relationships, partners can find activities/things that enrich them AND make decisions impacting finances and time spent on projects/work based on internal motivations, passions, shared values. Singles may do so as well.
To our internal motivations...the sheer, beautiful joie de vivre within each of us, finding full expression!