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123rd out of 270 books
—
118 voters
Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment
Can You Learn to Be Happy?
YES . . . according to the teacher of Harvard University's most popular and life-changing course. One out of every five Harvard students has lined up to hear Tal Ben-Shahar's insightful and inspiring lectures on that ever-elusive state: HAPPINESS.
HOW?
Grounded in the revolutionary "positive psychology" movement, Ben-Shahar ingeniously combines sci...more
YES . . . according to the teacher of Harvard University's most popular and life-changing course. One out of every five Harvard students has lined up to hear Tal Ben-Shahar's insightful and inspiring lectures on that ever-elusive state: HAPPINESS.
HOW?
Grounded in the revolutionary "positive psychology" movement, Ben-Shahar ingeniously combines sci...more
Hardcover, 192 pages
Published
May 10th 2007
by McGraw-Hill Companies
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Positive psychology is a really interesting field. And maybe if I hadn't already read superior books on the topic, I would've been more impressed with this one. But frankly, the dude's just not a very compelling writer.
Don't be fooled by the fact that this guy teaches Harvard's most popular class (which you will read about eight times before you even start the book). He seems to think of himself as more of a theorist than a researcher. A lot of times he settles for overgeneralizations (e.g., div...more
Don't be fooled by the fact that this guy teaches Harvard's most popular class (which you will read about eight times before you even start the book). He seems to think of himself as more of a theorist than a researcher. A lot of times he settles for overgeneralizations (e.g., div...more
1. Create meaningful rituals.
2. Daily gratitude journal.
3. Live and appreciate the present moment.
4. Enjoy the journey: "Happiness is not about making it to the peak of the mountain, nor is it about climbing aimlessly around the mountain, happiness is the experience of climbing toward the peak."
5. Struggles, hardship, and challenge are necessary components of an emotionally rich life.
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Be...more
2. Daily gratitude journal.
3. Live and appreciate the present moment.
4. Enjoy the journey: "Happiness is not about making it to the peak of the mountain, nor is it about climbing aimlessly around the mountain, happiness is the experience of climbing toward the peak."
5. Struggles, hardship, and challenge are necessary components of an emotionally rich life.
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Be...more
This "self-help" book, I would recommend. It started out slow, but became more interesting and insightful as it went along. The book has you ask questions and complete sentences as exercises in the study of becoming "Happier". I actually worked through these exercises by writing down the questions/sentences and answers in a spiral. The thought patterns send you down many different paths to determine where your true happiness comes from and what you can do to feel happier in the greater part of y...more
Happier†is a book about how to be happier in life with the things we already have. It is a book written by a Harvard teacher that gives a class with the same name. According to his account, every semester he has between 2 and 3 thousand students in his class. He is a great success and he has written this book so those who don’t have the opportunity to go to Harvard, have a chance to apply his techniques and listen to his advice. The book is divided in three parts. In the first one he tries t...more
"If we set off on a road trip without any identified destination, the trip itself is unlikely to be much fun. If we do not know where we are going or even where we want to go, every fork in the road becomes a site of ambivalence--neither turning left nor turning right seems a good choice as we do not know whether we want to end up where these roads lead. So instead of focusing on the landscape, the scenery, the flowers on the side of the road, we are consumed by hesitation and uncertainty. What...more
This is a pretty thin book with about enough content to fill a magazine article. The book centers around two ideas. First, that happiness is the "ultimate currency." The use of "currency", here, I think is unfortunate. Currency is actually a means of exchange that, at least with modern floating currencies, has no intrinsic value. A twenty dollar bill is not worth much in and of itself. It's worth comes from what we can exchange for it. Happiness is not like that. We don't exchange happiness for...more
Great read. While some of it is obvious (find what makes you happy), he makes some great points. He poses some poignant questions on how to discover what matters to you, and how to add happiness to your life. He briefly discusses external vs. internal manifestations of happiness. Definite 5 star.
A few quotes from the book:
"To live a meaningful life, we must have a self-generated purpose that possesses personal significance rather than one that is dictated by society's standards and expectations...more
A few quotes from the book:
"To live a meaningful life, we must have a self-generated purpose that possesses personal significance rather than one that is dictated by society's standards and expectations...more
very simple but profound book. i found myself bookmarking a lot of sections and exercises to return to when i had a bit more time. certainly, reading it did not make me suddenly *happier* - but it gave me some things to reflect on more.
two quotes:
"The proper role of goals is to liberate us, so that we can enjoy the here and now. If we set off on a road trip without any identified destination, the trip itself is unlikely to be much fun. If we do not know where we are going or even where we want...more
two quotes:
"The proper role of goals is to liberate us, so that we can enjoy the here and now. If we set off on a road trip without any identified destination, the trip itself is unlikely to be much fun. If we do not know where we are going or even where we want...more
เราอ่านเล่มนี้ โดยรอบแรก ยังไม่ได้ทำแบบฝึกหัดตามที่เล่มนี้แนะนำ
แต่ก็ขอบอกว่าหนังสือเล่มนี้เปิดมุมมอง ให้เราได้คิดตามไปตลอดทั้งเล่ม
แล้วก็ทำให้เราได้เห็นมุมมองใหม่ ๆ และแน่ใจในแนวทางการแสวงหาความสุข ที่ชัดเจนของเรามากขึ้น
บางแบบฝึกหัดอาจจะต้องใช้เวลา 30 ปี !!!
หนังสือเล่มนี้ ต้องใช้เวลาอ่านไปอ่านมาเรื่อย ๆ ทำตามแบบฝึกหัด แล้วจะทำให้เราเข้าใจตัวเราเองมากยิ่งขึ้น
อยากให้ทุกคนได้อ่านกัน เพื่อค้นหาความสุขของตัวเราเอง และเพื่อคนที่เรารัก คนที่อยู่รอบ ๆ ข้างเรา
เขาจะได้เห็นมุมมองความสุขในแบบของเขาเอง...
ลอง...more
แต่ก็ขอบอกว่าหนังสือเล่มนี้เปิดมุมมอง ให้เราได้คิดตามไปตลอดทั้งเล่ม
แล้วก็ทำให้เราได้เห็นมุมมองใหม่ ๆ และแน่ใจในแนวทางการแสวงหาความสุข ที่ชัดเจนของเรามากขึ้น
บางแบบฝึกหัดอาจจะต้องใช้เวลา 30 ปี !!!
หนังสือเล่มนี้ ต้องใช้เวลาอ่านไปอ่านมาเรื่อย ๆ ทำตามแบบฝึกหัด แล้วจะทำให้เราเข้าใจตัวเราเองมากยิ่งขึ้น
อยากให้ทุกคนได้อ่านกัน เพื่อค้นหาความสุขของตัวเราเอง และเพื่อคนที่เรารัก คนที่อยู่รอบ ๆ ข้างเรา
เขาจะได้เห็นมุมมองความสุขในแบบของเขาเอง...
ลอง...more
Yay!! Happy thoughts!! Really easy read and full of intuitively understandable stories/examples. This is written by the Harvard prof that has the most attended course at the school. I was expecting a bunch of mumbo-jumbo-woosaw-chicken soup-yoga stuff at first but it turned out to be quite meaningful. It talks about the idea that Happiness is the ultimate currency and the ultimate purpose of life. He describes 4 different models of thinking about happiness why 3 of them fail. Helps your decision...more
Dec 18, 2010
Dbcsg
added it
This is a great book written by Tal Ben-Shahar who is also known as the "Harvard Happiness Professor"--he taught the most popular course at Harvard University, "Positive Psychology". This book inspired Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh to make his life choices and build a company around the philosophy that customers and employees happiness comes first, and profits will follow. This same philosophy can be found in some innovative approaches to education, which focuses on the students passions and happiness,...more
A cynic as far as most 'self help' books go, having received this one free in a newspaper I admit curiosity got the better of me.
Amazed that there are any individuals out there who invest time and, even more surprisingly, money, trying to figure out if they are truly happy and, if not, what they, with the aid of this book (priced at almost £14), can do to rectify the situation, it would be all too easy to make fun of the message of 'Can You Learn To Be Happy? Happier' and so I'll stick to my opi...more
Amazed that there are any individuals out there who invest time and, even more surprisingly, money, trying to figure out if they are truly happy and, if not, what they, with the aid of this book (priced at almost £14), can do to rectify the situation, it would be all too easy to make fun of the message of 'Can You Learn To Be Happy? Happier' and so I'll stick to my opi...more
This is worth the read. It's short and simple but effective. I love this genre (positive psychology), so I've read a lot of these types of books. Some are good for a quick read, some require deep concentration and commitment to thought. This one was in between. If you take the time to do the exercises, you will have to devote a good deal of thought and introspection to the process. But you can just read the book and skip the exercises if you want to learn more about what really makes people happ...more
When a friend told me she was taking a university course on "Happiness" I immediately thought it was a fascinating idea. This book was one of the texts and is written by the instructor of a similar class at Harvard.
Unfortunately, I can't really take a book as a serious examination of psychology when the author spouts out catch-phrases like "the hamburger model" and "the lasagna principle".
In truth, though, there's only one catchphrase that threads itself through the length of the book and that...more
Unfortunately, I can't really take a book as a serious examination of psychology when the author spouts out catch-phrases like "the hamburger model" and "the lasagna principle".
In truth, though, there's only one catchphrase that threads itself through the length of the book and that...more
On my second time reading this book. If you are looking for happiness, this book will show you that you already have it. It changes your "take" on what real happiness is in life.
It's about changing paradigms about happiness that you have carried around with you most of your life. I would hope that we could start infusing some of these "wake-up" calls in our high school courses. Students have a lot to deal with today. Validation inside of social networks makes up a lot of their self-esteem measur...more
It's about changing paradigms about happiness that you have carried around with you most of your life. I would hope that we could start infusing some of these "wake-up" calls in our high school courses. Students have a lot to deal with today. Validation inside of social networks makes up a lot of their self-esteem measur...more
The author taught this Happier course at Harvard and he had the largest enrollment of students in Harvard history.
The book is a somewhat dry read for a self help book however but he references lots of studies and research which is unusual in this field and very interesting.
I love his basic premise which is that the ultimate currency is not money but happiness. In any situation, we should determine how much of the most important "currency" (happiness) we are going to earn.
I saw on TV that Denma...more
The book is a somewhat dry read for a self help book however but he references lots of studies and research which is unusual in this field and very interesting.
I love his basic premise which is that the ultimate currency is not money but happiness. In any situation, we should determine how much of the most important "currency" (happiness) we are going to earn.
I saw on TV that Denma...more
Professor who teaches most popular class at Harvard taken by 1200 students a class and 20% of school
He outlines four archetypes which fall between future and present and benefit and detriment
Rat race - always think something in the future will derive happiness and thus live in a present detriment
Hedonist - live for current benefit at the expense of future detriment
Nihilist - don't believe happiness can be achieved
Happiness is a combination of pleasure (present benefit) and meaning (futu...more
He outlines four archetypes which fall between future and present and benefit and detriment
Rat race - always think something in the future will derive happiness and thus live in a present detriment
Hedonist - live for current benefit at the expense of future detriment
Nihilist - don't believe happiness can be achieved
Happiness is a combination of pleasure (present benefit) and meaning (futu...more
This is one of those books that everyone should be required to read. I was intrigued by the scientific research done on being a happy person and wanted to know the psychology behind it. I started college out as a pysch major so these topics really interest me. Every thing discussed in this book is common sense stuff and nothing new but it's all organized and communicated in a way that makes sense and makes you want to have a better life. It has really helped me examine my priorities, look at my...more
Interesting theories and observations. Alternative way to look at happiness in life. I listened to the cd version first, and am reading it to reinforce some of the ideas. Highly recommend to provoke some thought.
GoodReads needs a category for "didn't finish" or "gave up on." This book wasn't worth more of my time about halfway through. I do think it would probably be valuable for people who've never had any other experience reading books of this type. This book is based on the "most popular" course at Harvard. I suppose if I was a Harvard freshman who had learned all my life that everything I did in elementary and high school was in preparation to going to Harvard, which will lead to becoming a rich, hi...more
From the book: ""What will make me happier?" It is about finding the overlap of 3 questions:
1. What gives me meaning?
2. What gives me pleasure?
3. What are my strengths?
It's about asking, "What is my calling?" and identifying the things that you really, really want to do at school, at work, and with your life as a whole.
We are living a happy life when we derive pleasure and meaning while spending time with our loved ones, or learning something new, or engaging in a project at work. The more our...more
1. What gives me meaning?
2. What gives me pleasure?
3. What are my strengths?
It's about asking, "What is my calling?" and identifying the things that you really, really want to do at school, at work, and with your life as a whole.
We are living a happy life when we derive pleasure and meaning while spending time with our loved ones, or learning something new, or engaging in a project at work. The more our...more
Social psychology books are usually right up my alley, but I could NOT get into this one, no matter what I did. I finally skimmed the book when I couldn't get past the introduction and realized that the most important point of this book is laid out on the first page - the essential question is not yes/no "I am happy" but "could I be happier than I am now" and/or "am I happier than I was". Everything beyond that is a discussion of things like efficacy, attitude, career planning advice, etc. that...more
This was simply outstanding. It's not gimmicky like a self-help book, yet it's also not your typical, overly-verbose scholarly work. Instead, it is a brilliant merger of the two - taking scholarly research and making it applicable to people's daily lives. There's nothing in here that you don't already know, but you don't necessarily KNOW that you know it. Or perhaps you just need a reminder, or to look at it a different way.
The exercises at the end of each chapter are straight-forward and don't...more
The exercises at the end of each chapter are straight-forward and don't...more
It looks and sounds corky but somehow it attracted my attention. I was surprised to know that it was written by a Harvard professor and that they teach "happiness" on Harvard. Thumbs up for that. Although the covers promises to be another self-help book it actually is a self-journey book. it is best to sit down and ponder when the author suggests and also do the exercise. It is not a book to read it is a book to ponder on and work with it. With it you get to see, where your mind twists in an unh...more
I recommend going through the entire Harvard course offered (it is available on Youtube, although it is 20+ hour long lectures). Positive psychology is such an interesting, innovative new field, and I appreciate Ben Shahar's aim to make this field of psychology accessible to everyone, since no one is going to read journal articles for fun (well, I do, but I'm in the minority here). I like that his tips are backed not only by his own anecdotes, but hard data as well. This isn't a get happy quick...more
I enjoyed going through this book slowly and carefully and making notes.
The helpfulness of the explicit "time-ins" reminded me of the usefulness of keeping a dialectic journal.
The main message is that happiness should be explicitly recognized as our "ultimate currency."
The division into four classes of thinking seems to be helpful to my thinking. (happiness, hedonism, rat-race, nihilism)
Some of my notes I marked as very important for me:
- the proper role for goals is to liberate us from smaller...more
The helpfulness of the explicit "time-ins" reminded me of the usefulness of keeping a dialectic journal.
The main message is that happiness should be explicitly recognized as our "ultimate currency."
The division into four classes of thinking seems to be helpful to my thinking. (happiness, hedonism, rat-race, nihilism)
Some of my notes I marked as very important for me:
- the proper role for goals is to liberate us from smaller...more
(3.0) will try some of the exercises and possibly change rating
So I hadn't heard of this book nor the whole positive psychology trend and then I read Tony hsieh's book, delivering happiness, and he points to this book as a great resource. So I figured i'd give it a try (believe it's my first self help).
Anyway, not sire anything here is revolutionary: find things you enjoy and do them more, find meaning in your life, do a lot of introspection and make the changes you need in order to become happi...more
So I hadn't heard of this book nor the whole positive psychology trend and then I read Tony hsieh's book, delivering happiness, and he points to this book as a great resource. So I figured i'd give it a try (believe it's my first self help).
Anyway, not sire anything here is revolutionary: find things you enjoy and do them more, find meaning in your life, do a lot of introspection and make the changes you need in order to become happi...more
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Tal Ben-Shahar provides fascinating and practical insights on how to think about happiness. His main points: focus on activities that provide present and future utility; find an overlap among what provides you meaning,what provides you pleasure, and what you are strong at; and find your calling in life with regards to work. I found this book to have many parallels to David Pink's book, "Drive," which is more career-oriented and focused on intrinsic motivatio...more
My best friend gave this to me several years ago, and I just didn't get around to reading it until now. I wish I had, because I think it could have helped the past 5 years be happier for me. Not that I've been completely unhappy, but as the title says, there is always room to be happier.
I loved that this book has data to back it up, and exercises and thoughtful reflections to help you put the theory into practice.
I think I can and will be happier from this point forward!! Definitely will be re-r...more
I loved that this book has data to back it up, and exercises and thoughtful reflections to help you put the theory into practice.
I think I can and will be happier from this point forward!! Definitely will be re-r...more
What I found interesting about the book, Happier, is that without saying so, Tal Ben-Shahar is writing about quality of life and quality of life - or finding those qualities we want in our lives to give life meaning - is what CCT is all about. CCT, Crystalline Consciousness Technique, is the cutting edge self-motivated personal growth process work I use. Crystalline refers to the crystalline system of the body and not to crystals and gemstones. the living crystalline energy that constitutes our...more
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| the time-in technique | 2 | 26 | Jul 05, 2008 08:15pm |
Tal Ben-Shahar (Hebrew: טל בן-שחר, also known as Tal David Ben-Shachar) is an Israeli teacher and writer in the areas of positive psychology and leadership.
Tal Ben-Shahar taught at Harvard, where his classes on Positive Psychology and The Psychology of Leadership were among the most popular courses in the University's history. Today Tal teaches at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya.
Tal receiv...more
More about Tal Ben-Shahar...
Tal Ben-Shahar taught at Harvard, where his classes on Positive Psychology and The Psychology of Leadership were among the most popular courses in the University's history. Today Tal teaches at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya.
Tal receiv...more
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Nov 14, 2011 03:46pm