Why Good Things Happen to Good People: The Exciting New Research That Proves the Link Between Doing Good and Living a Longer, Healthier, Happier Life

I love this book. I've bought three copies to give away and told all my friends about it. It's great to read how doing good things for others not only helps them but me too. It has reversed that feeling for me of being a sucker when I want to help others or volunteer or do something without pay. Now I think, I'm healthier! Love it!!

Author Dr Stephen Post cites clinical data to back up the title. I have been doing many of the things mentioned in the book, but did not realize that my sense of well being, happiness and relatively stress free life is due in part to the many hours I spend helping others. You will find that giving to others is essential to good health. I have increased my volunteer work with others as a result of reading this book. After each of the thirteen chapters there is a twenty question test to see how well you are doing with Humor, Courage, Respect, Compassion, Listening and etc. This did take me some time to read as there is much to digest, I strongly urge you to not only read ths book, but try and put into practice some of the activites that you may not be involved in now. It is true that good things really do happen to good people.

Good Things Happen to Good People. Okay so we all know that that statement isn't completely true. All of you reading this review are probably pretty good people and likely you've had some difficulties and not so nice things happen to you. Life isn't always roses and sunshine. Frankly, I hated this title but I liked the book. I feel like the title suggested that I get ready for some sort of sermon about how all the troubles in my life were caused by my own lack of perfection. However, once I started reading, I was happily surprised. I found stories of individuals whose lives were definitely less than perfection but who had rose above their situation to find a greater good in that experience. I believe that we experience everything for a reason and that often the most difficult situations lead us to important understandings about ourselves and the world around us. I think that often those darkest moments direct us to our passion. Illustrating this phoenix like potential in all of us is the strongest, most important point of Good Things Happen to Good People.

I had reached page 29 of "Why Good Things Happen to Good People" when I decided to go for a walk in the woods with this book and my new flute. I made myself comfortable in my favorite spot by a trickling stream and opened the book to page 30. The first words my eyes rested upon were.... "Then I walked into the woods, a chapel carved by nature." I immediately knew that I was meant to read this book. The central theme of Post's and Neimark's book is that if we give to others from our hearts ( not from thought of benefit or reward) that we will reap benefits glorious and unimaginable. I was thrilled that the authors made the definite point that we all have different ways of giving and that once we become aware of these various avenues of sharing ourselves with others, we can expand on our abilities to do so. I personally feel that I am not as up to par with some methods of giving as I am with others. This book reassured me that even if I don't remember birthdays or think of special things to give people during the year, that some of the other activities I engage in are just as important. Activism, being a good listener, expressing joy and humor, can also contribute to lighting up people's lives. We need to find our strengths and capitalize on them. We also need to realize that we are not limited to our natural giving tendencies. "Why Good Things Happen to Good People" shares ideas as to how we can break free from a stagnant pattern and become more joyful while doing so. I loved the authors' concept that forgiveness is also a form of giving and that holding grudges or hatred towards others negatively affects our own lives as well as the lives of those we are bearing the grudge against. This book is full of practical advice and helpful examples. I would like to share a quote from pages 85-86. It is one of my favorite contemplative exercises from the book. " Start counting people (from family to friends, colleagues, and neighbors) against whom you bear a grudge or resentment, even relatively small ones. Imagine putting a potato into a sack for every slight or hurt you have not forgiven. Now, imagine that for a week you have to carry that sack around everywhere you go - to the bathroom, in the car or on the train, to work, at your desk, at meetings, during mealtime and in bed at night. Have a good laugh at the amusing image. Don't you feel exhausted just contemplating that huge sack of potatoes?" The authors have included many studies which have been conducted on the physical and emotional benefits of the various forms of giving. There are also tests throughout the book which help you to gauge where you currently stand and also to help you to monitor your progress towards any goals you may set for yourself. This book has helped me to understand where my strengths lie and is an ongoing guide towards future goals. "Why Good Things Happen to Good People" is a book about love and caring and leads us together on the path to creating a

We are blessed to live in Cleveland with the opportunity to hear Dr. Post on occasion. Visit his web site, Institute for Research on Unlimited love (IRUL) as he just might be visiting near you, then you can feel his special quality. For me, he tells a simple truth in the first chapter, Find the Fire, when he says if he could take one word into eternity, it would be "give." Think about the "giving" in your own life, then you can see where this book will take you. Dr. Post says "It is full of great stories of love, great science, and great suggestions for a better life. This is a book that is good for you and your loved ones. It breaks love down into ten modulations in ten chapters (celebration, generativity, forgiveness, carefrontation [courage], humor & mirth, respect, compassion, loyalty, listening, and creativity)." We agree: find the fire.