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chelseydavidson 's review for:
The Happiness Equation: Want Nothing + Do Anything = Have Everything
by Neil Pasricha
Neil Pasricha has devoted many years and many pages to helping others find happiness. He is probably best known for his Book of Awesome, but now he is trying to approach happiness as an equation. I have read The Book of Awesome, which, to me, is a coffee table book, not meant to be consumed all in one seating like a novel but rather perused to bring a little dose of joy into your life at regular intervals or when you need it the most.
I liked the approach of this new book, The Happiness Equation, with its scribbles and sketches. It was cute, more like a conversation with graphics drawn on a napkin to illustrate the point. However, I would not find it to be the most mind-blowing of investigations. Most of what Neil points out is a retread. In fact, I would argue that a significant portion of this book is quoting others. Buddha said this. Newton said that. Richard Feynman points this out. Tom Hanks points that out. It's a game of he-said, she-said, at times, and that is a touch grating. I did like the anecdotes, but endlessly quoting others didn't really help me get anywhere. It just felt like padding.
The gist is as follows:
"Always remember there are only three goals.
To want nothing. That's contentment.
To do anything. That's freedom.
To have everything. That's happiness.
What are the nine secrets to get us there?
Be happy first.
Do it for you.
Remember the lottery.
Never retire.
Overvalue you.
Create space.
Just do it.
Be you.
Don't take advice."
I find it rather hilarious that the last piece of advice in this book is to not take advice, but nonetheless, it is probably good advice at that.
The other lessons throughout the book are ones we already know. I think the most interesting was to "do it for you". We already know we should aim for self-fulfillment, but the controlled studies of different groups and how their performance is affected by outside motivators, like money or fame or what have you, is fascinating. That is probably my favourite part.
As a minimalist, I was already on board with the lesson advising us to "create space" by streamlining and automating those decisions that don't matter but take forever. I'm also a big believer in "just do it" because the second-guessing is the killer. The cyclic nature of doing to create the self-confidence is obvious, but having it pointed out and illustrated is great. I appreciated that one a lot, too.
I suppose, by already being a fairly happy person, most of these lessons were already understood by me and that's why I didn't get quite so much out of the book. For someone who is looking to be perked up, this book is a great set of beginning resources, a course of action for you to follow, but, in the end, while I enjoyed reading it because of Pasricha's writing style, The Happiness Equation needed to dive a little deeper to discover a bit more.
I liked the approach of this new book, The Happiness Equation, with its scribbles and sketches. It was cute, more like a conversation with graphics drawn on a napkin to illustrate the point. However, I would not find it to be the most mind-blowing of investigations. Most of what Neil points out is a retread. In fact, I would argue that a significant portion of this book is quoting others. Buddha said this. Newton said that. Richard Feynman points this out. Tom Hanks points that out. It's a game of he-said, she-said, at times, and that is a touch grating. I did like the anecdotes, but endlessly quoting others didn't really help me get anywhere. It just felt like padding.
The gist is as follows:
"Always remember there are only three goals.
To want nothing. That's contentment.
To do anything. That's freedom.
To have everything. That's happiness.
What are the nine secrets to get us there?
Be happy first.
Do it for you.
Remember the lottery.
Never retire.
Overvalue you.
Create space.
Just do it.
Be you.
Don't take advice."
I find it rather hilarious that the last piece of advice in this book is to not take advice, but nonetheless, it is probably good advice at that.
The other lessons throughout the book are ones we already know. I think the most interesting was to "do it for you". We already know we should aim for self-fulfillment, but the controlled studies of different groups and how their performance is affected by outside motivators, like money or fame or what have you, is fascinating. That is probably my favourite part.
As a minimalist, I was already on board with the lesson advising us to "create space" by streamlining and automating those decisions that don't matter but take forever. I'm also a big believer in "just do it" because the second-guessing is the killer. The cyclic nature of doing to create the self-confidence is obvious, but having it pointed out and illustrated is great. I appreciated that one a lot, too.
I suppose, by already being a fairly happy person, most of these lessons were already understood by me and that's why I didn't get quite so much out of the book. For someone who is looking to be perked up, this book is a great set of beginning resources, a course of action for you to follow, but, in the end, while I enjoyed reading it because of Pasricha's writing style, The Happiness Equation needed to dive a little deeper to discover a bit more.