Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out [Paperback]

Marci Shimoff (Author), Carol Kline (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2009

From the bestselling coauthor of Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul and a leading contributor to The Secret, comes a fresh, new, practical program for finding and maintaining the happiness we all seek.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

According to the World Health Organization, the year 2020 will see depression become second only to heart disease in terms of the global burden of illness, a sad state of affairs that motivational speaker Shimoff (co-author, Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul) believes can be changed by learning to cultivate "a happiness that’s beyond reasons and that’s here to stay." Inner happiness, she says, is within reach for anyone who can turn down the volume on their hectic lives and learn the 21 Happiness Habits that Shimoff has cultivated from 100 interviews with "deeply happy" people (including actress Goldie Hawn and author Elizabeth Gilbert). Emphasizing a holistic approach, Shimoff takes into account mind, heart, body and soul in seven chapters that cover three Happiness Habits each, as well as corresponding anecdotes that "define what it means to be Happy for No Reason." The personal stories of happy interviewees prove enlightening, and the princples they support are sound and commonsensical ("Focus on the solution," "Make peace with yourself," "Question your thoughts," "Practice forgiveness"), if not exactly groundbreaking. Exercises and quizzes give readers practical steps toward their goal, such as breathing exercises (Spring Forest Qigong) and writing assignments ("Write a letter to your Higher Power").
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"With Happy for No Reason, Marci Shimoff has hit a home run. This book presents a definitive, broad-based approach to becoming truly happy that combines great spiritual depth, top-notch research, and psychological practicality. I'm certain that if you follow the practices in her dazzling new book, you too will manifest a lifetime of happiness." -- from the Foreword by Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles and cocreator of the bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul series

"You can't depend on external circumstances for lasting happiness. It has to come from inside you. Based on scientific research and the experiences of truly happy people, Happy for No Reason shows you step-by-step how to raise your happiness set-point." -- Mehmet C. Oz, MD, coauthor of You: On a Diet and You: Staying Young

"Marci Shimoff is one of the most compelling people I've ever known. I'm happy she's shared her wisdom with all of us in Happy for No Reason." -- Marianne Williamson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Return to Love

"Happy for No Reason offers seven clear, powerful, and effective steps you can practice to be happier right now!" -- John Gray, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus

"This book is a wonderful collection of techniques and examples, shared by people who have had one of the most important realizations I think we can have -- that we already have within us the ability to live in a state of Happy for No Reason." -- Lindsay Wagner, Emmy Award-winning actress, The Bionic Woman

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (March 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416547738
• ISBN-13: 978-1416547730
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (248 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

289 of 390 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Many reasons to read this book, December 29, 2007

By 

Joe Tye "CEO and Head Coach, Values Coach Inc." (Iowa) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out (Hardcover)

When I first saw the title, "Happy for No Reason," I'll have to admit that my initial reaction was that this would be just one more new age, touch-feely, full-of-fluff feel-good book. So I was very pleasantly surprised to see how thoroughly-researched, well-written, and down-to-earth practical this book is. "Happy for No Reason" is a groundbreaking philosophy that belongs in the same category as the work of David Burns (cognitive mood therapy), Martin Seligman (learned optimism), Daniel Goleman (emotional intelligence) and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (flow). It is a brilliant blend of scientific research summarized in language that anyone can understand plus stories from people Marci calls the Happy 100, people who are role models of happiness for the sake of happiness, not because of love or money or other exogenous factors.

I was so impressed with this book that I gave copies to each of my children as Christmas gifts this year. I'm hoping they will read it with a pen or highlighter in hand, which is what I found myself doing - and would recommend to you as well. It's easy to be unhappy, which might be why so many people are. Watch TV for an hour and you'll have a hundred reasons to not be happy; it's nice to know that you can choose to be happy for no reason at all.

69 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Happy for No Reason, June 15, 2009

By 

doglover22 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out (Paperback)

The idea presented in Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out is to get the reader to become, well, "Happy for No Reason"- which the book defines as true happiness that isn't dependent on external circumstances. You can then take a questionnaire to see how close you are to being "Happy for No Reason." But if you're not quite there yet, how does the book intend to get you there? Well, by several ways:

-you'll learn three guiding principles that will help you get past the common blocks to happiness

-you'll learn how to apply the "Law of Attraction" to being happier

-you'll learn about a seven-step program to become "Happy for No Reason". Each step has three "Happiness Habits" with corresponding exercises.

-the author interviewed 100 happy people and shares 21 of their stories that define what it means to be "Happy for No Reason"- stories reminiscent of the "Chicken Soup" series.

As you can see, there's plenty of good stuff in this book which will give you great advice and things to think about to help you "reframe" your thinking. Readers might also be interested in The Wishing Well Test: Take the Test - Get Your Wish!.

151 of 211 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was surprised by the book..., January 7, 2008

By 

Pete Bissonette (Minneapolis) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out (Hardcover)

I thought it would be namby-pamby or filled with fluff until I read this paragraph in the introduction:

"My first major discovery was that scientists have found that we each have a `happiness set-point,' the genetic and learned tendency to remain at a certain level of happiness, similar to a thermostat setting on a furnace. Fortunately for those of us not born on the sunny side of the street, it's been shown that we can change our happiness set-points. I'll discuss this more in the next chapter and offer you specific exercises throughout the book to raise your happiness set-point."

As I read the book I was surprised at most every turn. I was delighted that she included Mark McKergow's Solution Focus Technique--a longtime favorite of mine that keeps you focused on what's working in your life instead of on what's not working.

...And that she actually tells how to do one of Chunyi Lin's Spring Forest Qigong techniques that energizes the body and literally brings you feelings of happiness and joy.

Part of her process in studying happiness was to interview 100 truly happy people. Another surprise was finding a link where I could actually listen to highlights of the interviews online.

So...I'd get the book.