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Happiness. We all want happiness. We take jobs and marry and buy homes and have children, all in hopes of being happy.
Nevertheless, studies show that we are not very happy.
A few years ago, I decided to focus on happiness. I decided to read about happiness and to put into practice the ideas about happiness I learned.
Are you curious about what secrets I learned?
Here they are, the twelve hows from Sonja Lyubomirsky's book, The How of Happiness:
1. Expressing gratitude
2. Cultivating optimism
3. Avoiding overthinking and social comparison4. Practicing acts of kindness
5. Nurturing social relationships
6. Developing strategies for coping
7. Forgiving
8. Increasing flow experiences
9. Savoring life’s joys
10. Committing to your goals
11. Practicing religion and spirituality
12. Taking care of your body
I just finished a book where the main character lives all these ideas. It's Pollyanna. She's not the goody-two-shoes I thought she would be. No, she is a person who lives all these ideas, especially expressing gratitude and cultivating optimism, practicing acts of kindness and nurturing social relationships.
I've read a lot of books about happiness in the last few years and I've become happier. If you want to be happier, you could read these books, too. Or you could read Pollyanna.
What are you reading today?
Other books on happiness that I've read in the past few years:
The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want by Sonja Lyubomirsky
Happiness is my focus this year. I feel quite certain...more
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
What better book for me to read today, the first day of a new year, a new decade? I’ve been waiting and waiting for this book to be published...more
The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People: What Scientists Have Learned and How You Can Use It
by David Niven
Happiness. It’s what people say they want more than anything else in life. The single most important idea I carried away from this book was that most ...more
Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier by Robert A. Emmons
Emmons serendipitiously began to study gratitude during a conference on the classical sources of human strength: wisdom, hope, love, spirituality, gra...more
The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt
And thus we move, logically, to The Happiness Hypothesis...more
Radio Shangri-La: What I Learned in the Happiest Kingdom on Earth by Lisa Napoli
What's going on when a country bravely tosses the idea of measuring a society's worth in GNP and seizes upon attempting to measure it instead with...more
The Happiness Makeover: How to Teach Yourself to Be Happy and Enjoy Every Day
Not a lot new here, nor does the author have a beautiful prose style, but still worth browsing. Some of my favorites are practicing gratefulness, remi...more
The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
Eric Weiner hears about a study done on the happiest spots on the planet. He makes a plan to visit some of them and determine the happiness levels for...more
Exuberance: The Passion for Life by Kay Redfield Jamison
Kay Redfield Jamison takes a close look at that high-of-highs, exuberance. She studies the famous in history who have exuded exuberance including Tedd...more
Happiness: Lessons from a New Science by Richard Layard
Layard poses a question: Why is it that income is up yet happiness has not risen? He examines many studies of happiness for answers to this question. ...more
I love the idea that we can somehow control our own happiness by practicing certain attitudes and principles. I've heard the one about taking on the "attitude of gratitude," and it seems to have brought forth good things for many addicts with whom I've worked over the years.
ReplyDeleteI loved The Happiness Project!
Sometimes it's hard to remember the principles during our everyday lives...but I think that even if we practice only some of these, we'll be better off.
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Wow. I hadn't realised you'd read quite so many happiness books! Pollyanna made me think about happiness too. She does have some lessons for our modern lives.
ReplyDeleteI started reading The Happiness Project and quit because it seemed like common sense, but some of the other titles intrigue me
ReplyDelete.
So may I express my gratitude (and perhaps spread a little happiness around)?
ReplyDeleteI want to thank you for stopping by my blog today and reminding me that I have control of how I cultivate my happiness, even if I don't have control over others' behaviors or the cycles of nature.
You've reminded me of some of my favorite books about happiness (loved The Geography of Bliss especially), and offered a useful list of practices as well.
Many thanks! (y me gusta leer tambien)
Thank you, Laurie. I wish I had a little buzzer in my head that would remind me of all of these happiness builders when I forget....
ReplyDeleteHappiness needs to sometimes be practiced. And reminded of. We live in a gray world. That's why there are bumper stickers that read "Practice Random Acts of Kindness", etc. We have to have regular tune-ups, even on the bright side of things.
ReplyDeleteThere's a new book out called "Spontaneous Happiness" that my partner is reading. It looks interesting. You may want to check it out.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the suggested reading. I'm off to add Spontaneous Happiness to my Amazon wishlist!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed The Happiness Project. Did you know the author has a new book coming out next year? Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteDeb, can you email me your mailing address? I want to send you a holiday card.
Maybe I should read Pollyanna. I've read so many thoughtful but downbeat books lately. It would be nice to cultivate some happiness instead.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an interesting reading project. You should host an official "Happiness Challenge.." *hint, hint* :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome list of things to do to be happy! I've been intrigued by The Happiness Project book... maybe I'll get a hold of that one some day. Happy Sunday!
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I find that I sometimes I have to force myself to have myself feel a little bit of happiness, even if its just wishing my bus driver a good day when I leave, even if I don't feel that great.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy, Melissa, but one of the best ways to make yourself happy is by making others happy!
ReplyDeleteit is very beautiful and nice site.This is a great article to remind all bloggers .this is a very great and nice article. What is happiness? Asking someone to define happiness is like asking him/her to define success. Happiness can mean a lot of different things, and the definition may vary from one person to another. To one person, happiness may mean having lots of possessions. To another person, happiness may mean being very successful in his or her chosen career. To still another person, happiness may simply mean having a healthy and happy family. Ask yourself: What is happiness for you?
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