Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment

this book has helped me on so many levels. I have worked through this book over several weeks and just finished it. It’s great for mental health, if anyone is looking for a recommendation

The media could not be loaded.  “As I see it, the role of positive psychology is to bridge the ivory tower and Main Street, the rigor of academe and the fun of the self-help movement. That, too, is the purpose of this book.”“I define happiness as ‘the overall experience of pleasure and meaning.’ A happy person enjoys positive emotions while perceiving her life as purposeful. The definition does not pertain to a single moment but to a generalized aggregate of one’s experiences: a person can endure emotional pain at times and still be happy overall.”~ Tal Ben-Shahar from HappierTal Ben-Shahar is brilliant. And so is this book. His Positive Psychology class at Harvard was the most popular class on campus and, after reading his book, I can see why.The book is really well written and PACKED with a great overview of why happiness matters along with scientifically supported Big Ideas and exercises to help us rock our greatest lives. Truly amazing.Here are some of my favorite Big Ideas:1. The Four Archetypes - Rat racers, hedonists, nihilists and happy peeps.2. The Ultimate Currency - Is happiness.3. Happiness Rituals - Start 'em up!4. Negative Rituals - What will yours be?5. Expressing Gratitude - Is a very good thing.And is now a good time to start following your inner sage?More goodness— including PhilosophersNotes on 300+ books in our ​*OPTIMIZE*​ membership program. Find out more at brianjohnson . me.

This book could help reshape the brokenness in our world. I am so grateful to have found his and Shawn’s work and now I am dedicating my life to using what I’ve learned to change my life and those around me!!

Ben-Shahar presents the reader with a straight-forward, quick book that lays out the highlights of research into happiness and into what make us happy. The book, though, is more practicum than theory. Each chapter has exercises that help the reader put these ideas into action. I read the book straight through first and will go back to do the exercises. But already the insights that Ben-Shahar discusses have helped me to think differently about the nature of happiness and its relation to aspects of one’s life (such as work or the future).Ben-Shahar's uses his own life experiences, hypothetical cases, and metaphors to concretize the theory. I particularly liked his quadrant of the rat-race, hedonism, nihilism, and happiness. This captures more of the nuance of what kind of life (or rather one's perspective on life) is more likely to lead to happiness.Ben-Shahar's advice is practical and doesn't rely on quick fixes or some formula. It's intellectual work. It's about thinking about one's values and the hierarchy of those values: find out what is important and how to balance these in your life. It is also about finding the balance between past, present, and future. Living in the past or living for the future is not a recipe for happiness. One needs to be present, but can't forget their past or their future either. None of this is easy to do: but the pay off of a happy, fulfilling life is worth the work.

I think self-help books are the hardest genre to write. People's reasons for looking for help and inspiration are so varied, and their problems so diverse, that what fits perfectly for one person is totally inappropriate for the next. What is perfect advice for a thirty year old single mother suffering from terminal brain cancer wouldn't work for a teenager trying to decide what college to apply to, and vice versa.This work does an excellent job of putting people's issues in the context of the empirical research regarding what makes us happy. Rarely, in a book of this nature, do I find myself inspired to do the exercises. I have never felt moved to change my daily life habits based upon something I have read. Yet, as the result of reading "Happier", I have done both.For anyone who is looking for a little guidance on how to improve your happiness, which is probably all of us, I would strongly recommend this book. The only caveat is that I would suggest slowly reading every page and actually doing the exercises, in writing. This is not the type of work that one can just breeze through and get the full benefit of it. But I think the extra effort will pay off.

I read this book during the lowest point in my life. Now that I look back, about 1.5 years later, it was the catalyst that put me on the road to recovery. A few minutes ago I was sitting in my room looking at my bookshelf and caught sight of the yellow spine. I thought, "Damn. I HAVE to write a review."The most significant observation in the book is that happiness is the ultimate currency. It's so basic, and so true. All this stuff that we do in life is for the purpose of gaining happiness. When I realized that status, possessions, relationships and accomplishments have no intrinsic value, I began to rethink my approach to life. The funny thing is, I do just about the same things today that I did back then. The difference is my experience of them. For me, it was matter of changing the way I motivated myself. For you it will probably be something else.I don't know if this self-help book is better than any other, but it was very valuable to me. If you are in need, read it and do the exercises. The results will not be instant, but hopefully it will start or continue something good in your life.Best of luck, everyone.

Absolutely fantastic read if you're feeling down in the dumps and need some positivity in your life. The author makes references to scenarios from his own life and that of others, which you might find mirrors your own situation and so provides an insight into how you can overcome these situations, which are more than likely to be in your head! Definitely rewires your thought processes...

It contains several useful advises and examples that will help you to become a happier person, not when you win the lottery, finish your degree or buy your house... It tells you that you can be happier... NOW!

A thoughtful book that promotes reflection and the cultivation of contentment. As one might expect from this Harvard academic, Tal Ben-Shahar, the work is informed by his academic record and research among the student body. One of the better publications in a rain forest that contains a lot of poor material on 'happiness' and 'positive psychology' etc.

I wouldn't say I was any happier after reading this book but it does make you think about a few things and allow you to reflect.

Good REad