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Title: Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment
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Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
List Price: $21.95
Our Price: $9.97
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| Customer Reviews: |
| Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment by McGraw-Hill No secrets revealed here | | I bought this set of 4 cds to listen to on a long road trip, thinking to catch up on the latest popular course at Harvard. We really couldn't listen to them all--it was just too platitudinous and uninteresting. Sometimes people work hard for a goal and then discover that when they attain it they aren't joyous. Pure hedonism can't make you happy, though there are times when a little hedonism is a good thing. Think about the times when you were happy. What were they like? How about meditating a little every day? We were too bored to go on. Probably the point of the book could have been made in one lecture-length cd, but stretching it out to 4 didn't help, so if there is a 'secret' revealed in #4 we missed it. | | Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment by McGraw-Hill Disappointing | I bought this book hoping for a primer on positive psychology. Instead, I got a self-help book which told me pretty much nothing new. A couple of the meditations in the last section were interesting, but overall this book was fairly disappointing.
Also, that whole bit about referring to happiness as the "ultimate currency?" The first time the author mentioned it, it was so stupid and corny I wanted to cry. The fact that it was mentioned again on practically every page from that point on really didn't help.
One good thing though - the author does spend a decent amount of time talking about Czikzhentmihalyi's concept of "flow," which everyone really should get familiar with at some point. It's nice to see it there, but it still doesn't justify buying this book. | | Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment by McGraw-Hill I'll give this partial credit... | I read "Happier" over the Christmas holidays. It is an easy read, maybe even a bit simplistic in its day glo presentation. It is rooted in the "positive psychology" movement, based on a popular course at Harvard. The findings are hardly groundbreaking: happiness, the author contends, is a mixture of small pleasures in the moment and a sense of meaning in life overall. There are practical exercises ("time ins") in each chapter that should help you center your life around things you enjoy.
A few months after reading this book (I did most of the exercises), I am more focused on small pleasures and am feeling happier than I was. I have also maintained a 25 lb weight loss since the holidays, a first for me. I'm not giving all the credit to this book, but I think it's fair to say it might be one of the things that has helped me this year. This isn't the be all, end all pop psych book, but it's worth a read. | | Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment by McGraw-Hill Happiness 101 | I approach 'self-help' books with a healthy skepticism. I read this book because it was recommended to me by a group leader. I went to the bookstore, browsed it, and couldn't put it down. This book asks questions and it gives ways for each of us to provide our individual answers for our unique living circumstances. It's difficult to live a meaningful life in our world today when our attention is pulled in so many by the demands of family, friends, jobs, media, and the rest.
This book helps one to take stock of what it means to live a meaningful life in the midst of distractions and competition for our eyes and ears. It gives some general answers based on research, but each reader has to work to come up with their own answers to the questions the book poses. It's easy to read, but hard to put down. Above all else, it's fun to read and to change. I went from being a skeptic to being an advocate of this book. | | Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment by McGraw-Hill A 5-Star Read | I have read Daniel Gilbert's `Stumbling on Happiness' and Sonja Lyubomirsky's `The How of Happiness.' Of them all, Happier is by far the best book in the area of positive psychology because it provides practical exercises and information that will really allow you to achieve happiness and view life in a different way. Happier is extremely readable because it isn't filled with statistics, anecdotes, or testimonials. Unlike Lyubomirsky's book, which has garnered much more media attention, Ben-Shahar of Happier doesn't force his theories and research at you; the book reads more like a comprehensive lecture of the subject of happiness. I really enjoyed the author's writing style, the way in which he presented the information, and the helpful tips he gave to increase my personal happiness. In my opinion this is the best book dealing with positive psychology because it doesn't just describe what positive psychology/happiness is, but allows you to start being happier right away. If you're looking for theories/research about happiness then I'd suggest Sonja or Gilbert but for practical advice, Happier will make you very happy.
| | Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment by McGraw-Hill Product Description | Can You Learn to Be Happy? YES . . . according to the teacher of Harvard University’s most popular and life-changing course. One out of every five Harvard students has lined up to hear Tal Ben-Shahar’s insightful and inspiring lectures on that ever-elusive state: HAPPINESS. HOW?
Grounded in the revolutionary “positive psychology” movement, Ben-Shahar ingeniously combines scientific studies, scholarly research, self-help advice, and spiritual enlightenment. He weaves them together into a set of principles that you can apply to your daily life. Once you open your heart and mind to Happier ’s thoughts, you will feel more fulfilled, more connected . . . and, yes, HAPPIER. “Dr. Ben-Shahar, one of the most popular teachers in Harvard’s recent history, has written a personal, informed, and highly enjoyable primer on how to become happier. It would be wise to take his advice.”
--Ellen J. Langer, author of Mindfulness and On Becoming an Artist “This fine book shimmers with a rare brand of good sense that is imbedded in scientific knowledge about how to increase happiness. It is easy to see how this is the backbone of the most popular course at Harvard today."
--Martin E. P. Seligman, author of Authentic Happiness |
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