Customer Reviews

Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Life is a process, not an end. If you don't enjoy the process, you're going to hate the end.

I've read the ideas in this book many many times. Yet run through one more point of view is not a bad thing. Actually the author sums up the key to life well lived quite well in this thin book. Have meaningful goals, but enjoy the day to day process or realizing those goals. Appreciation is the key to life. The Psychic bank account. And then he applys them to school, to work, to love. And then he ends the book with meditations.

Give it a try. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

The only criticism, yet not enough to substract a star, is that there are quite a few repeated ideas from his previous work. However, if you have a good idea, no harm in repeating that idea.

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.

HAPPIER has something for everybody. It is a brief guide to increasing happiness no matter how happy you are when you start reading. The tone is cheerful throughout. It is filled with exercises to help increase happiness on a daily basis while pursuing long term goals. If you have research interests, the bibliography will peak your curiosity. The little book is a philosophy of life which allows for ups and downs without having to give up present and future happiness. While other writers on happiness have said much of what Tal Ben-Shahar has said, and in more detail, the author has put the information together in a way new. A way that makes being happier accessible now.

.....and there are better follow-ups after your introduction.

This does descend into mimicking the self-help genre pretty quickly.

I think my issue with this book is that the author underpins his reflections and conclusions too often with, with, well, not with much other than his opinion supported by Samuel Smiles type aphorisms.

This is a shame, because the field of Positive Psychology (capital letters employed deliberately) has so much going for it, not least a substantial serious wealth of empirical data to support it.

I understand that the author's lectures at Harvard are incredibly well-attended and indeed well-regarded. Not quite sure why, on this showing.

It's not a pure example of the self-help genre (thank goodness), but neither is it sufficiently scholarly or referenced to be much more.

In fact one of the books that Ben-Shahar should have included in his bibliography, but for some inexplicable reason didn't, would be a far better introduction: "The Happiness Hypothesis", by Jonathan Haidt (a definite 5 star read) is everything this book should have been, but was published a least a year earlier.

An alternative introduction, more practical but better-referenced than "Happier" is Ilona Boniwell's "Positive Psychology in a Nutshell", which I can also recommend whole-heartedly.

Tal Ben-Shahar has made positive psychology interesting and practical. I found the exercises (instead of time-outs, he calls each of them a "time in") to be simple, easy to implement and thought-provoking. His writing style is interesting, as well, and he relates this content to work, relationships, and other important areas of our lives. While the book's footnotes are full of great research papers, articles, and books, I did have trouble (just several times) understanding which statements were based on research and which were his professional opinion. But, that might be the price you pay for writing a book for the masses. Either way this is a great book which I plan to re-read many times.

I have read Daniel Gilbert's `Stumbling on Happiness' and Sonja Lyubomirsky's `The How of Happiness.' Of them all, Happier is by far the best book in the area of positive psychology because it provides practical exercises and information that will really allow you to achieve happiness and view life in a different way. Happier is extremely readable because it isn't filled with statistics, anecdotes, or testimonials. Unlike Lyubomirsky's book, which has garnered much more media attention, Ben-Shahar of Happier doesn't force his theories and research at you; the book reads more like a comprehensive lecture of the subject of happiness. I really enjoyed the author's writing style, the way in which he presented the information, and the helpful tips he gave to increase my personal happiness. In my opinion this is the best book dealing with positive psychology because it doesn't just describe what positive psychology/happiness is, but allows you to start being happier right away. If you're looking for theories/research about happiness then I'd suggest Sonja or Gilbert but for practical advice, Happier will make you very happy.

Happier really interested me. I had heard its author interviewed on NPR and he sounded different that other authors of what might be called "self-help" books. After reading "Happier", my observation seemed to be correct. He offered no magic bullets, no three step or 5 or 10 steps to a happier you. What he seemed to be interested in discussing was the nature of happiness.

The book is no disappointment from what I expected. Each chapter includes activities that allow the reader to reflect upon what has been successful or unsuccessful for him or her in terms of happiness. Quite unlike an instructional work, "Happier" suggests that the nature of life, the purpose of life for all of us, is to be happy. So much of what is offered in this brief time we have here on earth seems to be duty, to be impositions upon us by others. Just to accept the fact that our purpose here is to be happy, to enjoy our lives, although a seemingly ordinary thought, is really quite revolutionary.

If you are interested in reading a book that truly is thought provoking, one that asks you to consider ideas presented, and will lead you to an outcome suited to you, then this is for you.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Happier". I will read it again. I will read selected parts, those I highlighted, again.I will rework what is presented as "Time-ins", those portions of chapters that ask how what was written applies to me. To me, these were the very best parts of the work. They allowed me to use what was given to me in the preceding pages.

There are no promises with this book. But,if you read it, and you work with it, you can make your own.

Shahar's recent text is incredible! This book follows the recent explosion in the positive psychology movement by employing a science-based approach to the concepts of happiness and well-being.
Shahar's text is very informative and, more especially, very perscriptive. If you have ever read a self-help text that left you without directions for direct application, this book can rescue you. Shahar took great effort to ensure that the reader would not miss the multitude of applications available from his book. Each chapter has instructions for the reader to apply what he has so wonderfully written.

The recent surge of positive psychology is largely credited to texts like this. This book is definitely going to join the canon of positive psychology texts because of its rational arguments, its plain and clear style, its scientifically based research, and its allotment of applications.

I recommend this book to anyone curious about positive psychology, happiness, or the pathway to better living. For you, this is money well spent and this book is certain to make the willing reader happier.

This is a must read for anyone searching for peace, happiness, and meaning.

www.thehappinessblog.com

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.

Happier is based on Tal Ben-Shahar's positive psychology primer - the most popular class at Harvard and attended by about 20% of all Harvard graduates.

Ben-Shahar wisely suggests that a better question than 'Am I happy?' is 'How can I be happier?', since this recognizes happiness to be an ongoing and lifelong process.

He positions his book in contrast to self-help guides which, because they aren't subject to the scientific method, tend to 'over-promise and under-deliver' (page xi). Findings published in academic journals, he says, have greater substance.

Part 1 seeks to define happiness and identify the components of a happy life. Here purpose plays a large role in reconciling immediate and delayed gratification, as well as meaning and pleasure.

Part 2 applies these ideas to:

* Education - suggesting a 'lovemaking model' for more enjoyable learning
* Work - happier work gives meaning and pleasure and also uses a person's strengths
* Relationships - we may need to cultivate rather than find the relationships we want.

Part 3 contains Ben-Shahar's reflections on the nature of happiness and its place in our lives.

Rather than simply surveying the research, Happier seeks to help the reader become happier by incorporating interactive elements:

* Time-ins (as opposed to time-outs), which ask the reader to apply the ideas to their own life - for example, What are the things that you really, really want to do? (page 77).
* Exercises, which include journal-writing, meditations and tasks such as reading a particular book or joining a class.

In short:
Happier argues for a balanced approach to life - balancing present with future wants, pleasure-seeking with meaning-seeking, and self-interest with altruism. The combination of research, anecdotes and exercises give the reader a sense that being happier is an achievable and worthwhile goal.

Although Ben-Shahar's writing style is certainly not hard work, for some readers the book may be. There are so many concepts and tasks that the whole project may come to feel onerous after a while.

For readers really ready to get happier and looking for the information and exercises to follow, this is a good guide.