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

by Marci Shimoff (Author), Carol Kline (Contributor)
Key Phrases: happiness habits, practicing happiness, solutions focus, Law of Attraction, The Garden-Cultivate Nourishing Relationships, Life Inspired (more...)

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").
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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

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; 1 edition (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141654772X
• ISBN-13: 978-1416547723
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (212 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,502 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

255 of 329 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Joe Tye "Head Coach, Values Coach America" (Iowa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear cut and effective, June 28, 2009

By	B. Caldwell (New England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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

This is a great book and I'm so fortunate that I found it. This book doesn't give you the standard mumbo-jumbo that many happiness books try to push off on you. It's good practical advice and it accomplishes a lot in how it gets it's point across. Also the interviews are great. I highly recommend it. Another great book on happiness I read is Why Can't I Just Be Happy? A Realistic Approach To Happiness. I really enjoyed both of these books.

25 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can be happy now., January 13, 2008

By	Susanna Hutcheson "Copywriting for the Discri... (Midwest U.S.A.) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The methods discussed in this book work. I know because I've used them. When I was very young, I studied metaphysics and was published in numerous metaphysical journals and self-help publications.

I learned at an early age that if you want to be happy, you just have to act happy. If you want to be successful, you start by acting successful. The act or presenting the emotion or state of being that you want to achieve, brings that about --- or as I used to say --- it makes it manifest.

You don't wait for happiness. You don't wait for success. You say, "I have happiness now." You act happy. And you become happy as a result.

This is an empowering book. The methods are not new. Nothing is new, however. It is wonderful to read them again. And many people, much younger than me, have not read them. These people will greatly benefit from the book.

Life gives what we put out. If we put out a happy image, we get happiness back. That's a law of nature that simply can't help but work. The same method applies to wealth, success or anything else we want.

I highly recommend this book. It's time we read these wonderful methods again.