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 scientific studies, scholarly research, self-help advice, and spiritual enlightenment. He weaves them together into a set of principles that you can apply to your daily life. Once you open your heart and mind to Happier �s thoughts, you will feel more fulfilled, more connected . . . and, yes, HAPPIER.

�Dr. Ben-Shahar, one of the most popular teachers in Harvard�s recent history, has written a personal, informed, and highly enjoyable primer on how to become happier. It would be wise to take his advice.�
. --Ellen J. Langer, author of Mindfulness and On Becoming an Artist

�This fine book shimmers with a rare brand of good sense that is imbedded in scientific knowledge about how to increase happiness. It is easy to see how this is the backbone of the most popular course at Harvard today."
. --Martin E. P. Seligman, author of Authentic Happiness

I really liked this book. While conducting my ongoing research on the subject of happiness, this book caught my eye with its bright red and yellow cover. Glancing through the book, the information caught my attention.

I guess what I liked best about it, and what sets it apart from the rest of the happiness books on the shelf, was the author's approach. Right off the bat, the book makes it clear that one's goal should not be to merely strive for a great state of happiness. As it points out, this approach suggests happiness is a point you try and reach, and then you've "made it"- game over.

Wrong. Nobody goes around in a perfectly blissful state all the time, and pursuing such a goal is doomed to fail.

Instead, our approach should be to try and continually work on being "happier" (hence the reason for the title of the book). The trying to be "happier" approach leaves us with a much more realistic goal- and suggests that it is more of an ongoing process in life we should be shooting for, rather than trying to reach a state of happiness and then you're good to go forever. So just how does the book intend to make one "happier"?

In two words, the research. Since the author teaches a class in positive psychology at Harvard, the book's tips to increase your happiness, such as setting goals and expressing gratitude, stand on solid ground. I also believe most readers will find them pretty doable.

When all was said and done, I found this book to be pretty good read with a sensible approach to becoming happier. Not only does it explain the happiness research in a digestable language, and give you practical happiness boosting tips, it's biggest asset to readers just might be that it helps re-frame the whole idea of how we should go about pursuing happiness. Readers who like this evidence-based book may also want to check out Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World. Happy trails!

Excellent book that explain in simple terms how to become a happier person. The book is full of examples and guidelines and it is well docummented with excellent references. I recommended this book to any person interested in finding a different perspective on happiness.

EGR

I really enjoyed this book. It was easy to read while on the go with short opportunities to read a few pages. I found the can-do perspective empowering. Basically the author tells you that being happy is in your control and depends on what you choose to do and how you perceive things. There are lots of exercises to do along the way that I hope to go back and incorporate into my life and some I hope to make a ritual, like composing a gratitude list once a day.

This book is a wonderful confirmation of my 77 years on earth. I have given three copies to my psychology compatriates. The basis for happiness is located inside and as with humor, wonder and curiosity fed by our contained energy part. So watch the drains (also in others). Thanks to the author I have freed myself even more from the jealousy of others.
Pieter G. Kuipers,
Sneek, The Netherlands

This book certainly introduces some central concepts which I found illuminating and useful. There are quite a few exercises ("time-ins") which everyone should do at some point in their life, if not regularily. I found some of these to be better than others whilst a few appeared to be there just for the sake of filling up space.

The writing itself is a little self-helpy which is something I couldn't quite get over. I would've liked to have more hard data and information to challenge me in my thinking around the topic. Much of the book is also repetative and I felt it was at times patronising.

It took a bit of concentration to get over the writing but once I focused on the topic at hand, I found the information quite illuminating.

All in all however, if you can get over the writing and into the crux of the topic, I think it's a very useful book and definitely worthy of a good read. Some of the exercises and meditations are useful and are things I would encourage any person to at least try.