20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Greater kindness makes the difference!, January 30, 2008
Happiness is a by-product of how thoughtful and generous your own choices are! Current research has proven that the happiest people in all societies including this one are the people who have relative peace of mind and are above all generous and good-humored. This book lives up to its claim that making relatively simple changes in the way you look at your own choices and then actually behave will make an immediate and significant difference. This is a book for people who want to take charge of the way they are living. In a very crowded marketplace it is surprisingly difficult to find books that are both intelligent and uncluttered. This one is certainly about happiness but it gets straight to the point that it is not other people or more "things" or more money that will make a lasting difference, but rather a willingness to see what works and what doesn't. Do more of what is going well; do less of what's making you or someone else unhappy. Sounds as though we should all know that, yet over and over again we do the same things that have already caused us problems. I am a practicing therapist and know that it is not education or high intelligence that makes the difference - it is a willingness to learn from experience and to value what you can do and give. There are lots of great "experience" stories here to help make the insights come to life. This book is beautifully set out and could be read by first-timers to this kind of writing as well as much more sophisticated readers. The author has a spiritual outlook that reflects the Dalai Lama's ("My religion is kindness"). A kinder life is a happier one. She leaves us in no doubt that this is possible and achievable.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Choosing Happiness works!, January 19, 2008
How wonderful to find a book that speaks to our daily lives. Most of all this book speaks to me! It is in small segments so I can read something and think about it. There are also practical ideas suggested, and ways of making a difference, inside me and in my outer world. For example, I am able to change the way I think and it will change the way I feel - something I have known in my head, but never have I read so clearly how this can happen - I mean really! 'We can learn to be less afraid of fear' 'what would I do if I weren't afraid?' These questions front profound teachings and encouragments to find a more fundamental trusting attitude towards life and towards myself. I highly commend 'Choosing Happiness'!
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simple Yet Profound, June 1, 2008
This review is from: Choosing Happiness: Life and Soul Essentials (Paperback)
I have to tell you that I basically read Choosing Happiness in a single day. I had been looking for information on helping me better handle my stress and on living a much simpler, more joyous life when what do I find but an entire table dedicated to "Finding Happiness". I must have picked up ten books from that table that looked good, but it was Stephanie's book that grabbed my attention and kept it for the rest of the day!
The book is jam-packed with solid advice--advice I had basically read or heard from various Christian speakers, authors, and psychologists over the years. The difference is that Stephanie shares the advice as though you were sitting at a table with a close friend who truly wanted you to be happy--not someone who wanted you to know how smart she was. You get a sense that Stephanie truly cares about the happiness of her readers and that she's found the secret to happiness that has eluded us for years--money, successes, and material possessions mean nothing. True happiness comes from within and in order to find and keep true happiness in your life, you must:
* Treat yourself with self-respect.
* Take time to get to know yourself through self-discovery, self-knowledge, and self-responsibility.
* Take time to do the things that matter most to you--even if it's only thirty minutes a day.
* And most importantly, learn to LOVE yourself for who you are, not who you could be or what other people think you should be.
Here are a few key quotes that hit home for me:
* "If what matters to you most differentiates from what you do most in your life, that conflict can negatively affect your moods, your emotions, and your relationships."
* "When we feel worst about ourselves we feel the most disconnected from others."
* "Be aware of what you didn't get in childhood as well as what you most resent. Use that awareness to be especially sensitive about not unconsciously demanding that your partner, kids, or friends make up for that."
* "People who take time to simply `be' on a daily basis are measurably more productive, better listeners, less stressed, more alive, and more resilient than those who don't."
* "Your life is an incredible gift, not for what you can do with it but for what it is!"
If you are searching for more out of life and just aren't happy with what you're finding, check out Choosing Happiness . It just might steer you in the right direction.
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