You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
medium-paced
Easy to read and full of potentially helpful exercises, but many of those are lifted from other sources and would probably be better utilized directly from their originators.
Overall a decent guide to achieving happiness for people who are doing fine already.
Constantly referring to happiness as the "ultimate currency" got under my skin.
Overall a decent guide to achieving happiness for people who are doing fine already.
Constantly referring to happiness as the "ultimate currency" got under my skin.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
reflective
fast-paced
Turned out to be an enlightening book, and helped me see how easy it is to be melancholy all the time. In order to actually be "happy" (finding enjoyment, pleasure, & meaning in life) it takes work. Just like relationships and our pursuit of money, we have to make the conscious effort to be aware of the experiences and people that bring us joy/contentment/meaning. The exercises encourage you to be honest with yourself, critically look at your life, and help you see what you can change for the better. I highly recommend reading and/or listening to the (audio)book.
informative
tense
fast-paced
Pretty well done I think but it just didn't hook me in and I feel like this wasn't really the best time in my life to read.
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
I found it interesting but not revolutionary and I think that’s one of the major points the author makes. At least I kind of already know what things will make me happy; the constant implementation and finding how to make those practices sustainable, that’s the hard part. I like the last idea of life being like a mosaic. It’s the day to day that makes that up and we need to learn to enjoy it as much as possible. I didn’t do the exercise, I wasn’t aware that it was part of the book but I have in mind the ones I want to implement.
Sometimes commonsensical, sometimes insightful. I think we know that to be happy requires work, and a balance between present selves and future selves - of answering the questions of MPS, 'meaning', 'pleasure', and 'strengths', i.e., 'What do I find meaningful in life?', 'What do I enjoy in life?', and 'What am I good at?' But it helps to have a professor to back these tidbits of advice with the relevant positive psychological research, and to systematize what we may have always felt we've known into an easy-to-follow framework and strategy for asking ourselves the right questions that can lead us to happier lives.
The book is divided into many subsections within each chapter, with 'Time-In's, where you take a moment to reflect on what you've read and answer a question that pertains to your life, e.g., 'Think back to some of your favorite work experiences. What was it about the specific projects of the workplace that made the experience a positive one?' There are also more demanding 'Exercises' at the end of each chapter which, I admit, I didn't do - but if do seriously consider improving my happiness levels (or at least trying to), then the book is such that it's easy to skim through it and find the relevant questions and exercises... which I may come back to.
So, not a gripping read with mind-blowing insights and revelatory powder kegs of 'WHAM-O - this is what you need to be happy!', which is probably the point as happiness is about the here and now, that 'this is it': 'this' = our lives, 'it' = there's nothing more - there's no promised land or end goal to happiness, no point in the future where we can say 'Yes, when I've done x, y and z, I'll be happy.' It's work that you start now! So get happy!
The book is divided into many subsections within each chapter, with 'Time-In's, where you take a moment to reflect on what you've read and answer a question that pertains to your life, e.g., 'Think back to some of your favorite work experiences. What was it about the specific projects of the workplace that made the experience a positive one?' There are also more demanding 'Exercises' at the end of each chapter which, I admit, I didn't do - but if do seriously consider improving my happiness levels (or at least trying to), then the book is such that it's easy to skim through it and find the relevant questions and exercises... which I may come back to.
So, not a gripping read with mind-blowing insights and revelatory powder kegs of 'WHAM-O - this is what you need to be happy!', which is probably the point as happiness is about the here and now, that 'this is it': 'this' = our lives, 'it' = there's nothing more - there's no promised land or end goal to happiness, no point in the future where we can say 'Yes, when I've done x, y and z, I'll be happy.' It's work that you start now! So get happy!