Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment (Hardcover)

by Tal Ben-Shahar (Author)
Key Phrases: ultimate currency, happiness boosters, happiness revolution, Happiness Explained, Setting Goals, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Though everyone wants to be happier, how many of us can actually define what that means? In his class, "Positive Psychology," one of the most popular courses at Harvard University, Ben-Shahar teaches that happiness isn't as elusive a concept as people think, and can actually be learned; he commits the fundamentals of his course to paper in this primer on getting happy, which he defines as a combination of pleasure (short-term happiness) and meaning (long-term). Divided into three parts, "What is Happiness?", "Happiness Applied" and "Meditations on Happiness," Ben-Shahar provides insight and exercises, prodding reflection in readers ("Do you accept negative emotions as natural?" "Do you see your work as a job, a career, or a calling?") while explicating the relationships among happiness, motivation and goals. Though it sounds simple, Ben-Shahar insists on keen self-awareness and purposeful action to overcome entrenched patterns of despondency and/or disbelief. For answer-seekers, this is definitely a good start.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"It is easy to see how this is the backbone of the most popular course at Harvard today."
—Martin E. P. Seligman, author of Authentic Happiness --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (May 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071492399
• ISBN-13: 978-0071492393
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,707 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #21 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Mental Health > Happiness
  #63 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Self-Help > Success

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

110 of 137 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than the rest of the self-help books, May 31, 2007

By	M. Benson (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book approaches happiness with foundations based on research, peer-reviewed psychology publications, and observational logic. It is very well-written and uplifting, without being simplistic. It uses concepts from Csikszentmihalyi , Seligman, Jung, Campbell, Goleman, Branden, Gardner, Persig, and Kahneman, among others. The sections on happiness in education and in the workplace were especially helpful to me and made me realize I was focusing too much on financial rewards for happiness. This book gave me more focus and peace.

82 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life is A Process, Not An End., May 25, 2007

By	Radical Skeptic (Only In America, Land of Opportunity) - See all my reviews

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.

54 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book actually works, July 15, 2007

By	N. Miller "Lit Addict" (Honolulu) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Even the bright yellow cover was carefully planned! This book may repeat what other books have said before, and it does it well. The author, Tal Ben-Shahar backs up his book with an abundance of research, surveys, science, logic, and well, PROOF. Of course, a lot of being happy starts from within ourselves, the motivation to want to be happier. Reading this book gave me a helpful kick-start.

Not only is this book an explanation of positive psychology, it also serves as a workbook. There are "Time-In" sections which ask you to reflect on certain areas of your life:
"Think back to a period or two in your life when you enjoyed both present and future benefits."
Also, there are more in-depth exercises included. It's great to see a self-help book with clear text, good editing, well mapped out and wonderfully organized. The wording is up to date, the references personal.

I can't think of anything negative about the book. Ben-Shahar appears to be very open-minded as he covers each section: relationships, love, work, etc. I finally felt good about myself (I'm 20 something, floundering about trying to find my way.) If you have a question about how to apply positive psychology to a given situation, it's pretty easy to get advice straight from the book after looking it up in the table of contents. (Fast advice!)

The principles in this book can not only be applied to all ages.

And it helps that they name-dropped Harvard. Well, Harvard is living up to expectations here. This book is very well written and sinks in. I highly recommend reading it more than once.