Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment

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.

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.

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

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.

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.