The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want
by Sonja Lyubomirsky
List Price:
Our Price: $14.51
You Save: $11.44 (44%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $14.24 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Sonja LyubomirskyEdition: Hardcover
Published: 2007-12-27
ISBN: 159420148X
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
Book Reviews of The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want
Book Review: Happiness for Dummies
Summary: 4 Stars
By titling this review, "Happiness for Dummies" I don't meant to insult readers or the author. I am thinking of that series of how-to books "_____ for Dummies". That is what this book reminds me of. It is an extremely tightly organized book. You can just see the outline format the author must have used peeking thourgh every few pages. Every idea has a number associated with it. There are twelve big ideas, two cross-references, X further activities, etc. It is also full of short quotes and brief references to scientific studies. Again, I could just see index cards with quotes on them and notes about this or that study being put to work by the author. In contrast, Jonathan Haidt's "The Happiness Hypothesis" with its various references to literary works, religious and philosophical thinking throughout the ages and more generally discursive style seems to me to be a more sophisticated work and may be better suited to some readers. Also, although I loved the 50/40/10 idea that is one of the book's principal arguments and the one that has probably attracted the most press, I wasn't as sold on the strength of the inference as I had hoped I would be.
Summary of The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want
You can change your personal capacity for happiness. Research psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky's pioneering concept of the 40% solution shows you howDrawing on her own groundbreaking research with thousands of men and women, research psychologist and University of California professor of psychology Sonja Lyubomirsky has pioneered a detailed yet easy-to-follow plan to increase happiness in our day-to-day lives-in the short term and over the long term. The How of Happiness is a different kind of happiness book, one that offers a comprehensive guide to understanding what happiness is, and isn't, and what can be done to bring us all closer to the happy life we envision for ourselves. Using more than a dozen uniquely formulated happiness-increasing strategies, The How of Happiness offers a new and potentially life- changing way to understand our innate potential for joy and happiness as well as our ability to sustain it in our lives.
Beginning with a short diagnostic quiz that helps readers to first quantify and then to understand what she describes as their "happiness set point," Lyubomirsky reveals that this set point determines just 50 percent of happiness while a mere 10 percent can be attributed to differences in life circumstances or situations. This leaves a startling, and startlingly underdeveloped, 40 percent of our capacity for happiness within our power to change.
Lyubomirsky's "happiness strategies" introduce readers to the concept of intentional activities, mindful actions that they can use to achieve a happier life. These include exercises in practicing optimism when imagining the future, instruction in how best to savor life's pleasures in the here and now, and a thoroughgoing explanation of the importance of staying active to being happy. Helping readers find the right fit between the goals they set and the activities she suggests, Lyubomirsky also helps readers understand the many obstacles to happiness as well as how to harness individual strengths to overcome them. Always emphasizing how much of our happiness is within our control, Lyubomirsky addresses the "scientific how" of her happiness research, demystifying the many myths that unnecessarily complicate its pursuit. Unlike those of many self-help books, all her recommendations are supported by scientific research.
The How of Happiness is both a powerful contribution to the field of positive psychology and a gift to all those who have questioned their own well- being and sought to take their happiness into their own hands.
Happiness Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Live a Happier Life: A List For Women
The Greatest Secret of All: Moving Beyond Abundance to a Life of True Fulfillmentby Marc Allen
New World Library; Published: 2007-12-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.71
Price in other shops:
What Happy Women Know: How New Findings in Positive Psychology Can Change Women's Lives for the Betterby Dan Baker, Cathy Greenberg
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2008-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.86
Price in other shops:
The Power of Patience: How to Slow the Rush and Enjoy More Happiness, Success, and Peace of Mind Every Dayby M. J. Ryan
Broadway; Published: 2003-05-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.19
Price in other shops:
The 100 Year Lifestyle: Dr. Plasker's Breakthrough Solution for Living Your Best Life - Every Day of Your Life!by Eric Plasker
Adams Media; Published: 2007-02-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops:
If the Buddha Got Stuck: A Handbook for Change on a Spiritual Pathby Charlotte Kasl
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2005-01-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.92
Price in other shops:
Be Happy Without Being Perfect: How to Break Free from the Perfection Deceptionby Alice Domar, Alice Lesch Kelly
Crown; Published: 2008-03-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.47
Price in other shops:
The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed and Overworked- 21st Century Editionby Ernie J. Zelinski
Ten Speed Press; Published: 2003-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.39
Price in other shops:
A Short Guide to a Happy Lifeby Anna Quindlen
Random House; Published: 2000-10-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.40
Price in other shops:
Stop Whining, Start Livingby Dr. Laura Schlessinger
Harper; Published: 2008-03-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.00
Price in other shops:
The Power of Illusionby Maya Vidhyadharan
Arise And Soar; Published: 2008-04-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.74
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillmentby Martin Seligman
Free Press; Published: 2004-01-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisionsby Dan Ariely
HarperCollins; Published: 2008-02-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.04
Price in other shops:
Stumbling on Happinessby Daniel Gilbert
Vintage; Published: 2007-03-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.87
Price in other shops:
Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happinessby Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein
Yale University Press; Published: 2008-04-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $16.17
Price in other shops:
Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brainby John J. Ratey
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 2008-01-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.40
Price in other shops:
Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Outby Marci Shimoff
Free Press; Published: 2008-01-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.49
Price in other shops:
One Year to an Organized Life: From Your Closets to Your Finances, the Week-by-Week Guide to Getting Completely Organized for Goodby Regina Leeds
Da Capo Press; Published: 2007-12-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.93
Price in other shops:
Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillmentby Tal Ben-Shahar
McGraw-Hill; Published: 2007-05-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.04
Price in other shops:
Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happierby Robert Emmons
Houghton Mifflin; Published: 2007-08-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.97
Price in other shops:
The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the Worldby Eric Weiner
Twelve; Published: 2008-01-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.49
Price in other shops: