Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment Author: Visit Amazon's Tal Ben-Shahar Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0071492399 | Format: EPUB
Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment Description
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.
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Review
“Jeff Woodman’s reading has a narrative drive that captures the author’s affirming ideas.”
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- Hardcover: 192 pages
- Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1st edition (May 10, 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0071492399
- ISBN-13: 978-0071492393
- Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.7 x 0.8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Happier is based on Tal Ben-Shahar's positive psychology primer - the most popular class at Harvard and attended by about 20% of all Harvard graduates.
Ben-Shahar wisely suggests that a better question than 'Am I happy?' is 'How can I be happier?', since this recognizes happiness to be an ongoing and lifelong process.
He positions his book in contrast to self-help guides which, because they aren't subject to the scientific method, tend to 'over-promise and under-deliver' (page xi). Findings published in academic journals, he says, have greater substance.
Part 1 seeks to define happiness and identify the components of a happy life. Here purpose plays a large role in reconciling immediate and delayed gratification, as well as meaning and pleasure.
Part 2 applies these ideas to:
* Education - suggesting a 'lovemaking model' for more enjoyable learning
* Work - happier work gives meaning and pleasure and also uses a person's strengths
* Relationships - we may need to cultivate rather than find the relationships we want.
Part 3 contains Ben-Shahar's reflections on the nature of happiness and its place in our lives.
Rather than simply surveying the research, Happier seeks to help the reader become happier by incorporating interactive elements:
* Time-ins (as opposed to time-outs), which ask the reader to apply the ideas to their own life - for example, What are the things that you really, really want to do? (page 77).
* Exercises, which include journal-writing, meditations and tasks such as reading a particular book or joining a class.
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