The Millennial's Guide to Making Happiness Volume 1

by Chris Butsch

All his life, Chris Butsch lived on the fast track to success. Go to school, get good grades, get a job, profit. That's how it works, right? So he thought, until he was diagnosed with clinical depression in his early twenties. Determined to find a long-term cure, Chris began a worldwide quest to conquer the plague of unhappiness blanketing the Millennial generation. On the way, Chris interviewed hundreds of psychologists, swamis, millionaires, monks, and Millennials from thirty-one different countries, devouring decades of positive psychology research as he went. Eager to share his discoveries, Chris walks readers through the essentials of building a happy life:

- Discerning the difference between true happiness vs fleeting pleasures
- Tailoring your environment for optimum performance through improved sleeping habits and exercise goals
- Optimizing focus and gray matter through meditation and mindfulness

With wit, humor, and charm, Chris artfully captures the struggle of Millennials nationwide while crafting intelligent, actionable, and science-backed solutions. A must-read for any young person, or anyone trying to make their way in the world, The Millennial's Guide to Making Happiness, Volume 1, puts a humorous, personal, and scientific spin on the pursuit of happiness.

253 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Victor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may edit this review in a few months or a year to see if it "worked" since as Chris says, "reading this book without taking action is like staring at a bagel when you're hungry", but it was such an entertaining bagel it did make me at least take a bite and make some small changes already.

I think the biggest strength of this book is Chris's ability to establish himself as a credible source and give tough advice without being condescending. It reminds me of a less dry version of Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover, which I started reading around the same time (it made sense to finish this one first as it had the broader goal). Dave spends a lot of time saying how none of what he's saying is a big secret; it's just the method of presentation, order of steps, etc that make it work.

The same is true here. The content is great, broken into easily actionable pieces supported by science and colorful anecdotes, but the ideas that sleep, exercise, and meditation, for instance, are good for you are nothing new. Chris's struggle in presenting his ideas is tougher than Dave's, however, in that there's little worse than telling someone with clinical depression "why don't you just go walking in the park or meditating?" the same way they would say "just stop being sad" like it's the easiest thing in the world and we're all silly geese for not having chosen to do it sooner. Proving credibility without looking like you're doing it is super tough. When you pull it off it's so slick it's hard to describe; the closest I can do is say that when you fail it's super awkward and obvious like that meme of Steve Buscemi going "how do you do, fellow kids?" So reaching and entertaining both Millennials, a generation where the best if not only way to lump us together is our dislike of being lumped together, and mental health sufferers, a lot of whom have a hard time believing anyone else truly understands, is doubly hard and congrats to Chris for pulling it off. I do have some unanswered questions, but I'm going to take some of the book's advice and have an (online, but still) actual conversation with Chris about them as opposed to a social media post, and see if they get answered in Volume 2.

[Samantha Slama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written with a relatable sense of humor, this book not only breaks down why we struggle to be happy, but gives science-proven suggestions on how to fight the negativity and stress that surrounds us. Wonderful read and extremely helpful!