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Beyond Happiness
As Britain's best-known headmaster, Sir Anthony famously introduced happiness, or well-being, lessons at his school, Wellington College. In 2011, he co-founded Action for Happiness, a body to raise awareness of the discovery of happiness and reduction of depression, whose influence is growing rapidly in Britain and across the world.
In this book Anthony Seldon distinguishes between pleasure, happiness and joy, and offers an original 8-step approach on how to make our lives far more meaningful and rewarding. The pursuit of happiness can all too easily become a trap which seduces us into thinking there is no more to life than being happy. In fact, the author is highly critical of 'positive psychology' and other dominant schools of thought.
In fact, we need to reach beyond this if we are to access the deepest levels of human experience open to us, and find our own unique path in life. The author offers a further 5 steps, which point the way to accessing these deeper levels of experience, which alone result in the joyful life which is our birthright.
Paradoxically, as this book demonstrates, stepping off the happiness treadmill will ultimately make for a happier and more fulfilled life. It is time to go beyond happiness.
In this book Anthony Seldon distinguishes between pleasure, happiness and joy, and offers an original 8-step approach on how to make our lives far more meaningful and rewarding. The pursuit of happiness can all too easily become a trap which seduces us into thinking there is no more to life than being happy. In fact, the author is highly critical of 'positive psychology' and other dominant schools of thought.
In fact, we need to reach beyond this if we are to access the deepest levels of human experience open to us, and find our own unique path in life. The author offers a further 5 steps, which point the way to accessing these deeper levels of experience, which alone result in the joyful life which is our birthright.
Paradoxically, as this book demonstrates, stepping off the happiness treadmill will ultimately make for a happier and more fulfilled life. It is time to go beyond happiness.
304 pages, Paperback
First published April 16, 2015
About the author
Anthony Seldon
90 books88 followersSir Anthony Francis Seldon, FRSA, FRHistS, FKC, is a British educator and contemporary historian. He was the 13th Master (headmaster) of Wellington College, one of Britain's co-educational independent boarding schools. In 2009, he set up The Wellington Academy, the first state school to carry the name of its founding independent school. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham from 2015 to 2020. Seldon was knighted in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to education and modern political history.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 20, 2016
A book written with sincerity. I read a lot of self helped books and this one particularly contains all the important pieces of advice to help readers live a happy life. A well-researched and highly recommended read if you goal is to live with joy.
October 13, 2019
If you are going through the Action for Happiness course, this is a good book to help you through the process. The author is one of the co founders so this covers all the aspects of the course.
The book is written openly from personal experience and so makes it feel very authentic. There are also lots of questions to answer as the reader too, you can make this as interactive as you want, go as deep within as you wish.
He does get a bit preachy near the end about finding a religious practice, but is aware that it's not one size fits all. Saying that, I would have preferred the book without that short chapter.
Very easy to read and set out well.
The book is written openly from personal experience and so makes it feel very authentic. There are also lots of questions to answer as the reader too, you can make this as interactive as you want, go as deep within as you wish.
He does get a bit preachy near the end about finding a religious practice, but is aware that it's not one size fits all. Saying that, I would have preferred the book without that short chapter.
Very easy to read and set out well.
June 7, 2017
It is a self-help book for those who are in need for self-search, letting go and seeking for a purpose (happiness). It is anchored on 12 core propositions and how to go beyond happiness. Knowing the what, why and how of happiness help to understand the essence of happiness and the purpose of joy in life. Simple to read and recommend for those who require step-by-step guide for seeking purpose in life and happiness.
October 2, 2017
I was honestly expecting a bit more from this book. Throughout it I had the feeling we were just scratching the surface and not getting deep enough. Only at the end I was able to overcome those expectations and realize that this book actually provides a very good path to structure your journey to joy. But you have to fill in the blanks yourself, and that's not trivial work.
August 6, 2017
I have never read a book before that has made me so angry. I couldn't finish the whole thing because of the arrogance of the author. I certainly didn't get anywhere near even basic happiness never mind trying to attain joy. I'm getting angry again just writing this review.
June 26, 2017
A great self helped book. Will revisit and take as a reference book for positive energy.
July 11, 2018
Read this in one sitting in a library in Oslo.
Handy for sorting out your definition of what happiness means to you if it's still vague.
Handy for sorting out your definition of what happiness means to you if it's still vague.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews