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antika's review
4.0
Šioje knygoje autorė skaitytoją supažindina su keturiais hormonais, kurie padeda mums jaustis laimingiems. Tai serotoninas, dopaminas, oksitocinas ir endorfinas. Kiekvienas jų trumpai aprašomas, papasakojamos jų funkcijos. autorė juos pristato siekdama skaitytojui suteikti žinių, kaip išmokyti savo smegenis šių hormonų išskirti daugiau ir dažniau jaustis gerai. Žinoma, tam pasiekti prireiks kantrybės, valios pastangų ir užsispyrimo. Autorė to neslepia ir nepasakoja, kad visa tai bus lengva. Nebus, nes smegenys turės sudaryti naujus neuronų tinklus tam, kad naujas įprotis taptų maždaug tiek stiprus, kiek ir senasis ir galėtų su juo konkuruoti. Anot autorės, tam reikia 45 dienų. Knygoje pateikiama tokių tarsi savistabos ir savianalizės klausimų, į kurios atsakius bus lengviau suprasti, kas mus nuliūdina ar pradžiugina. Daugelis autorės įžvalgų yra paremtos evoliuciniu požiūriu, maždaug: elgiamės / jaučiamės taip ar anaip, nes turime išlikti, tad gal man trūko kiek kitokio požiūrio, kuris nebūtų paremtas vien nuo seno esamais žmonių instinktais. Nepaisant to knyga įdomi. Rekomenduoju, jei įdomu tokios temos kaip neuroplastiškumas, smegenys, žmogaus elgesys ir jausmai. Ir žinoma, jei tiesiog norite praplėsti žinias.
zhliu0124's review
3.0
The book includes two parts. The first half part of the book explains how our emotion system works to control our feelings to the world and to ourselves, which I found it’s very interesting and quiet inspiring. The chemical system we humans share with the other mammals is helping us survive in this complicated world. It drives us to seek new sexual partners, food, and good relationships with the others by guaranteeing us happiness. To make ourselves happy, we have to do these things it motivates us to do. This creates a huge side effect because these things are too easy for us to get in our modern society. We often find us overeating, surfing porn websites, and addicting to video games and social-network websites not because our bodies need them but because we want us to be happy. To make it even worse, this chemical system is designed to challenge our satisfaction all the time. We get bored easily and have to pursue more to keep us happy. Many of us is trapped by this “vicious circle”. It helps us better control ourselves by understanding how this system works.
The second half part is, more or less like the other self-help books, about how to make a new habit by repeating. I could not find anything new.
Though I appreciate the author’s idea and her taste of good books (there is a list of books about mind, consciousness, and society). But I don’t like the powerpoint slide-like style, and I am sick of the author keeping saying “You… You… Your…You.You.You…” Come on.
The second half part is, more or less like the other self-help books, about how to make a new habit by repeating. I could not find anything new.
Though I appreciate the author’s idea and her taste of good books (there is a list of books about mind, consciousness, and society). But I don’t like the powerpoint slide-like style, and I am sick of the author keeping saying “You… You… Your…You.You.You…” Come on.
look_whos_reading's review
4.0
This is a book to be savored slowly. Let the anecdotes backed by some interesting science percolate and sink in. I might just have to go back and read this again; the author talks about each hormone - Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin and Endorphin - at great length and explaining the functions/pitfalls etc in detail. The book is after all a guide to training your brain to be happy. So, the chapters also provide scientific tips and techniques to make you aware of and control these hormones. It was definitely a worthy read - anyone who leans towards neuroscience, psychology and self-improvement books will find great value in this book.
cassandrat's review
4.0
A quick read or skim with some standard advice for new habits. Very practical and little filler in my opinion. The usefulness is having it all in one place and linked to seratonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphin. I can't evaluate the scientific accuracy and would have liked more of that reasoning and citations. A lot of the work relied on reference to observation of animals like primates and mice. The author is of the opinion that we should be grateful and not complain, with which I disagree. But hey, moderation in all things.
olmaz's review
5.0
Loved this book and explanations how the mind works! It made me stop judging myself for reacting the way I do, for fearing what I fear. Will probably read this book again and again, a good reminder to be more gentle with yourself.
desihorcrux's review
4.0
A book that explains the connection between our psychological structure to the biological science behind it? Count me in! This was time well spent and a solid 3.5 read for me.
'Habits of a Happy Brain' is a book that has taken the core of enzyme science and explained it in a simplified manner to help us understand on how to train our brain into becoming happier. The philosophy here is straightforward - Your brain secretes enzymes as a result of certain actions and this triggers happiness (or unhappiness) respectively. Not intricate or elaborate, but it works to convince everyone on my favorite core ideology that is "You are not your thoughts".
Let's meet our friends: Dopamine, Endorphin, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Cortisol (this is categorized as an 'unhappy' enzyme, however we learn to understand why we need him too). I love how the author mentions that forming new habits is like paving a dirt path in a rainforest with a highway through it. It is difficult, takes time and you'd rather use the highway of bad habits you have, but proceeds to explains that repeatability is the ultimate success formula. The book provides a simple approach to starting a new good habit in 45 days (mainly to train your brain to feel good about this habit despite initial resistance) and how to overcome obstacles along the way. This one has definitely made me want to pick up my guitar practice that I'd had abandoned at the beginning of the year. That's a win in my opinion.
"If you're always looking for wrongs, you will not find the rights even if you stumble upon it."
"We all have an idealized view of happiness. Our expectations will never match the actual. Try to feel happy about small things. Make it a habit to see the good in everything."
The only downside to this book was that it seems to written in a way that it expects everyone reading it is objecting/disagreeing with everything said within it. It has multiple sentences following an important statement that are along the lines of "but you might disagree with what I just said so let me explain more". I just wish the author had trusted me more to actually like it (which I did most of the time). I also wasn't a big fan of the repeatability of similar concepts within this book, but most self help books fall into that trap to drive the point home so I'm not going to hold this against the book.
The best parts of this was the last chapter where the Author provides a list of similar books, what they are about and why she recommends it. I just wish every book had this to make it easier for me to not seek out the next perfect read along similar lines (which I always end up doing).
'Habits of a Happy Brain' is a book that has taken the core of enzyme science and explained it in a simplified manner to help us understand on how to train our brain into becoming happier. The philosophy here is straightforward - Your brain secretes enzymes as a result of certain actions and this triggers happiness (or unhappiness) respectively. Not intricate or elaborate, but it works to convince everyone on my favorite core ideology that is "You are not your thoughts".
Let's meet our friends: Dopamine, Endorphin, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Cortisol (this is categorized as an 'unhappy' enzyme, however we learn to understand why we need him too). I love how the author mentions that forming new habits is like paving a dirt path in a rainforest with a highway through it. It is difficult, takes time and you'd rather use the highway of bad habits you have, but proceeds to explains that repeatability is the ultimate success formula. The book provides a simple approach to starting a new good habit in 45 days (mainly to train your brain to feel good about this habit despite initial resistance) and how to overcome obstacles along the way. This one has definitely made me want to pick up my guitar practice that I'd had abandoned at the beginning of the year. That's a win in my opinion.
"If you're always looking for wrongs, you will not find the rights even if you stumble upon it."
"We all have an idealized view of happiness. Our expectations will never match the actual. Try to feel happy about small things. Make it a habit to see the good in everything."
The only downside to this book was that it seems to written in a way that it expects everyone reading it is objecting/disagreeing with everything said within it. It has multiple sentences following an important statement that are along the lines of "but you might disagree with what I just said so let me explain more". I just wish the author had trusted me more to actually like it (which I did most of the time). I also wasn't a big fan of the repeatability of similar concepts within this book, but most self help books fall into that trap to drive the point home so I'm not going to hold this against the book.
The best parts of this was the last chapter where the Author provides a list of similar books, what they are about and why she recommends it. I just wish every book had this to make it easier for me to not seek out the next perfect read along similar lines (which I always end up doing).