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From Publishers Weekly
Though everyone wants to be happier, how many of us can actually define what that means? In his class, "Positive Psychology," one of the most popular courses at Harvard University, Ben-Shahar teaches that happiness isn't as elusive a concept as people think, and can actually be learned; he commits the fundamentals of his course to paper in this primer on getting happy, which he defines as a combination of pleasure (short-term happiness) and meaning (long-term). Divided into three parts, "What is Happiness?", "Happiness Applied" and "Meditations on Happiness," Ben-Shahar provides insight and exercises, prodding reflection in readers ("Do you accept negative emotions as natural?" "Do you see your work as a job, a career, or a calling?") while explicating the relationships among happiness, motivation and goals. Though it sounds simple, Ben-Shahar insists on keen self-awareness and purposeful action to overcome entrenched patterns of despondency and/or disbelief. For answer-seekers, this is definitely a good start.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
Jeff Woodman s reading has a narrative drive that captures the author s affirming ideas. AudioFile (Audiofile )
--This text refers to the
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Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
No-Nonsense Happiness Info,
By
This review is from: Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment (Hardcover)
I really liked this book. While conducting my ongoing research on the subject of happiness, this book caught my eye with its bright red and yellow cover. Glancing through the book, the information caught my attention.I guess what I liked best about it, and what sets it apart from the rest of the happiness books on the shelf, was the author's approach. Right off the bat, the book makes it clear that one's goal should not be to merely strive for a great state of happiness. As it points out, this approach suggests happiness is a point you try and reach, and then you've "made it"- game over. Wrong. Nobody goes around in a perfectly blissful state all the time, and pursuing such a goal is doomed to fail. Instead, our approach should be to try and continually work on being "happier" (hence the reason for the title of the book). The trying to be "happier" approach leaves us with a much more realistic goal- and suggests that it is more of an ongoing process in life we should be shooting for, rather than trying to reach a state of happiness and then you're good to go forever. So just how does the book intend to make one "happier"? In two words, the research. Since the author teaches a class in positive psychology at Harvard, the book's tips to increase your happiness, such as setting goals and expressing gratitude, stand on solid ground. I also believe most readers will find them pretty doable. When all was said and done, I found this book to be pretty good read with a sensible approach to becoming happier. Not only does it explain the happiness research in a digestable language, and give you practical happiness boosting tips, it's biggest asset to readers just might be that it helps re-frame the whole idea of how we should go about pursuing happiness. Readers who like this evidence-based book may also want to check out Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World. Happy trails!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (68 customer reviews) 56 of 57 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Years Later,
By R. Oda - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment (Hardcover)
I read this book during the lowest point in my life. Now that I look back, about 1.5 years later, it was the catalyst that put me on the road to recovery. A few minutes ago I was sitting in my room looking at my bookshelf and caught sight of the yellow spine. I thought, "Damn. I HAVE to write a review."The most significant observation in the book is that happiness is the ultimate currency. It's so basic, and so true. All this stuff that we do in life is for the purpose of gaining happiness. When I realized that status, possessions, relationships and accomplishments have no intrinsic value, I began to rethink my approach to life. The funny thing is, I do just about the same things today that I did back then. The difference is my experience of them. For me, it was matter of changing the way I motivated myself. For you it will probably be something else. I don't know if this self-help book is better than any other, but it was very valuable to me. If you are in need, read it and do the exercises. The results will not be instant, but hopefully it will start or continue something good in your life. Best of luck, everyone. 114 of 122 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Life is A Process, Not An End.,
By Radical Skeptic - Published on Amazon.com
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This review is from: Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment (Hardcover)
Life is a process, not an end. If you don't enjoy the process, you're going to hate the end.I've read the ideas in this book many many times. Yet run through one more point of view is not a bad thing. Actually the author sums up the key to life well lived quite well in this thin book. Have meaningful goals, but enjoy the day to day process or realizing those goals. Appreciation is the key to life. The Psychic bank account. And then he applys them to school, to work, to love. And then he ends the book with meditations. Give it a try. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. The only criticism, yet not enough to substract a star, is that there are quite a few repeated ideas from his previous work. However, if you have a good idea, no harm in repeating that idea. 37 of 41 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Okay, but there are better introductions,
By P MARTIN - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment (Hardcover)
.....and there are better follow-ups after your introduction.This does descend into mimicking the self-help genre pretty quickly. I think my issue with this book is that the author underpins his reflections and conclusions too often with, with, well, not with much other than his opinion supported by Samuel Smiles type aphorisms. This is a shame, because the field of Positive Psychology (capital letters employed deliberately) has so much going for it, not least a substantial serious wealth of empirical data to support it. I understand that the author's lectures at Harvard are incredibly well-attended and indeed well-regarded. Not quite sure why, on this showing. It's not a pure example of the self-help genre (thank goodness), but neither is it sufficiently scholarly or referenced to be much more. In fact one of the books that Ben-Shahar should have included in his bibliography, but for some inexplicable reason didn't, would be a far better introduction: "The Happiness Hypothesis", by Jonathan Haidt (a definite 5 star read) is everything this book should have been, but was published a least a year earlier. An alternative introduction, more practical but better-referenced than "Happier" is Ilona Boniwell's "Positive Psychology in a Nutshell", which I can also recommend whole-heartedly. |
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