Happiness For Dummies [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

W. Doyle Gentry PhD (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 28, 2008

Now, you can find the happiness you want and live “the good life” you deserve by applying the helpful information in Happiness For Dummies, the ultimate guide to achieving bliss!   You’ll discover proven techniques for living a meaningful, healthy, and productive life no matter what your life circumstances happen to be. Positive concepts and techniques will help you change key behaviors, foster good habits, and be in sync with your surroundings.

This helpful guide will give you the chance to assess your happiness and understand what it means to be happy at each stage of self-actualization. You’ll learn why having positive emotions can improve your health and well-being. And, you will find out what happiness isn’t and how to avoid confusing happiness with culturally valued outcomes like wealth, power, and success. Pursue what you want, seize the day, find benefits in life’s challenges, and live a coherent lifestyle. Find out how to:

• Assess your current capacity for happiness
• Live the life that you want
• Overcome common obstacles to happiness
• Identify your strengths and virtues
• Improve your emotional and spiritual life
• Create meaningful social ties and learn to be alone
• Find the silver lining

Complete with lists of ten ways to raise a happy child, ten common roadblocks to happiness, and ten personal habits to foster happiness, Happiness For Dummies is your one-stop, easy-to-follow guide to being happy and living your best life.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Tips for balancing work and play

Find the happiness you want and live "the good life" you deserve!

Give yourself the gift of happiness! This friendly, upbeat guide gives you proven techniques for living a more meaningful, healthy, and productive life and truly becoming a happier person. No matter your current circumstances, you'll find positive concepts and techniques to help you change key behaviors—and foster the good habits that will bring you the happiness you seek!

Discover how to:

• Overcome common obstacles to happiness

• Identify your strengths and virtues

• Improve your emotional and spiritual life

• Achieve happiness in your relationships

• Always find the silver lining

About the Author

W. Doyle Gentry, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, a distinguished Fellow in the American Psychological Association, and the Founding Editor of the Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies (July 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470281715
• ASIN: B0036DE48M
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,395,405 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

W. Doyle Gentry, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and Director of the Institute for Anger-Free Living in Lynchburg, Virginia. He is a Fellow in the American Psychological Association and was the Founding Editor of the Journal of Behavioral Medicine. In Dr. Gentry's four-decade career as a scientist-practitioner, he has authored over 100 publications, including eight books, and is a pioneer in the fields of health psychology, behavioral medicine, and anger management. He has previously served on the faculty of Duke University Medical Center and the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston. Gentry has conducted training seminars for lay and professional audiences throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. He has also served as a consultant to major industry, where he specializes in conflict management, team building, and health promotion. Articles referring to Dr. Gentry's work on anger regularly appear in a variety of contemporary magazines, and he is frequently interviewed on radio and television for insights into how to create and maintain an anger-free life. He is the author of two earlier self-help books on anger: ANGER-FREE: Ten Basic Steps to Managing Your Anger (Quill, 2000) and When Someone You Love Is Angry (Berkley, 2004).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nicely written, some great ideas for happiness, January 18, 2009

By 

Kevin Watt "I know that poetry is indispensab... (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Happiness For Dummies (Paperback)

I've long felt htat some people are able to be happier than others, because they KNOW something that others don't. Often I've been one of those people, but as I get older, I find that sometimes it isn't the case. Something seems missing and I can't say what, etc.

This book goes through many areas of life and how to define and improve your "happiness". I regularly find interesting things while reading this and call my wife over so I can read them to her.

Nicely writen, and great ideas!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A disappointing entry in the "for dummies" line, May 28, 2010

By 

Jim Smith "The Executive Happiness Coach" (Cleveland, Ohio, US) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Happiness For Dummies (Paperback)

I know that the "for dummies" series are not going to be written by the bleeding edge experts, but even in that context this book was a flaming disappointment. I suspect the author, who has also penned Anger Management for Dummies, was chosen only because he knows how to write in the For Dummies format. The references he used and the information he provides here is nearly ancient. The field of Positive Psychology has gone through a massive transformation and growth spurt over the past decade, and none of what we currently know about happiness or positive emotion is reflected in this work. The only good here was that I was able to purchase at a very deep discount... and now I know why.

To be fair: if you know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the subject of happiness, this has some merit. But if you've read anything by Martin Seligman, know who Ben Tal-Shahar, or have read anything published in the past five years either of those men or by Bob Emmons, Barry Schwartz, Sonja Lyubormirsky, Barbara Frederickson, etc -- or frankly, even if you've watched a couple of Oprah shows or read any edition of her magazine, then back away from your keyboard -- there's nothing here for you.