You can change your personal capacity for happiness. Research psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky's pioneering concept of the 40% solution shows you how

Drawing on her own groundbreaking research with thousands of men and women, research psychologist and University of California professor of psychology Sonja Lyubomirsky has pioneered a detailed yet easy-to-follow plan to increase happiness in our day-to-day lives-in the short term and over the long term. The How of Happiness is a different kind of happiness book, one that offers a comprehensive guide to understanding what happiness is, and isn't, and what can be done to bring us all closer to the happy life we envision for ourselves. Using more than a dozen uniquely formulated happiness-increasing strategies, The How of Happiness offers a new and potentially life- changing way to understand our innate potential for joy and happiness as well as our ability to sustain it in our lives.

Beginning with a short diagnostic quiz that helps readers to first quantify and then to understand what she describes as their "happiness set point," Lyubomirsky reveals that this set point determines just 50 percent of happiness while a mere 10 percent can be attributed to differences in life circumstances or situations. This leaves a startling, and startlingly underdeveloped, 40 percent of our capacity for happiness within our power to change.

Lyubomirsky's "happiness strategies" introduce readers to the concept of intentional activities, mindful actions that they can use to achieve a happier life. These include exercises in practicing optimism when imagining the future, instruction in how best to savor life's pleasures in the here and now, and a thoroughgoing explanation of the importance of staying active to being happy. Helping readers find the right fit between the goals they set and the activities she suggests, Lyubomirsky also helps readers understand the many obstacles to happiness as well as how to harness individual strengths to overcome them. Always emphasizing how much of our happiness is within our control, Lyubomirsky addresses the "scientific how" of her happiness research, demystifying the many myths that unnecessarily complicate its pursuit. Unlike those of many self-help books, all her recommendations are supported by scientific research.

The How of Happiness is both a powerful contribution to the field of positive psychology and a gift to all those who have questioned their own well- being and sought to take their happiness into their own hands.

"Indeed, not only does materialism not bring happiness, but it's shown to be a strong predictor of unhappiness." ~ pg. 43

"The How of Happiness" is a relatively tedious book, which is basically a reminder to live a more balanced life. Most people are already doing many of the activities this book suggests: Be grateful, Be optimistic, Don't compare yourself to others, Practice acts of kindness, Nurture social relationships, Forgive, Make a list of goals, Become more spiritual, Meditate and Join a Gym.

This book could have been much shorter and to the point. Instead the author expands on each item to the extreme. For the most part this book is well organized and there are a few self-diagnostic tests that help you decide on a strategy that will work for you personally.

I found myself aimlessly paging through the book because once I got the main point of the chapter I didn't feel it was necessary to read about it endlessly. I can't really recommend this book unless you really haven't read any self-help books before and are truly unhappy in all areas of your life. There is really nothing scientific about this book and basically you have probably read it all before.

~The Rebecca Review

I have already gifted this book to 6 of my friends.

If you are a scientific person who wants to learn more about happiness and maybe even change parts of your life to be happier, this is the right book.

This book is one of the more readable "do-it-yourself" happiness books out there. By that, I mean that your average person can sit down and read the book, understand what it is saying, and come away with some practical advice. This is even more of gem when you consider that it was written by someone who has a Ph.D. in Social Psychology. Many times writing can come across more technical than it needs to be when a Phd. writes for the popular read. Not the case here.

The first thing I liked about this book was the fact that it was written by someone who actually makes their living by studying happiness. Serious happiness readers like myself will be glad to know that the author is not only well-published in peer-reviewed journals, but is also an associate editor of the Journal of Positive Psychology- the field's academic journal. What more do you want?

So we're off to a good start with this one. Instead of giving you a blow-by-blow of each chapter, I think this particular book review lends itself better to telling potential buyers some of things they can expect from it:

-you will be able to determine your current level of happiness on a scale that the author has developed and validated. The good thing about this is that you can re-check you happiness levels after doing some of the suggested activities to see if they actually boosted your happiness levels (like you wouldn't know anyway, but being a researcher myself, I like to be able to quantify things)

-you will learn what determines your happiness. The book points out three major things: circumstances, your genetic set-point, and intentional activity. Since intentional activities is the area that offers the most potential to increase your happiness, the book's strategies come from this area. This is a common theme in some of the more recent happiness book, such as Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World, simply because it makes the most sense and there has been a surge of research on intentional activities to increase one's happiness.

-you get a slew of activities to increase your happiness such as expressing gratitude, practicing acts of kindness, or increasing flow experiences (readers liking this strategy should be sure to check out the authoritative book on flow aptly titled Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.

So I think the above represents the major "goodies" in the book, and the info that a typical reader would buy this book to get. However if its more you want, there's also plenty of that. For instance there are plenty of happiness facts cited and even a section on depression.

All-in-all, as you can tell, I really liked this book a lot. If I had to pick one thing I DIDN'T like about it though, it would be it's length. The book is well-over 300 pages and readers of my reviews know that I personally prefer short, to-the-point, practical books. But, when all is said and done, if you want some great happiness info and some practical happiness strategies, check it out. Happy trails!

Although the first part of the book is a bit repetitive, and I would quibble with some of the methodology, part II is incredibly valuable because it has 12 well-explained strategies you can choose from and begin implementing on daily basis to become happier. The strategies are excellent. Among the many, many psychology and self-help books I've read, this is one of my top five favorites ever because the content is so valuable.

Maybe I'm biased, having breeasts and all, but the brain ladies always seem to give us the straight answers and I'm loyal to that. This is a wonderful book, very insightful. A good old fashioned "Brain Book" and from a fellow woman, you really can't beat that! I'm also going to have to plug Sarah Shikitao-Brown's book as well, because as Allison Tyler mentioned earlier,"Go brain ladies!" I concur completely. Here's the link to that one, both of these books are exceptional. Tao Cycle Therapy: Natural Happiness via Self Directed Cure for Chronic Anxiety & Depression [Updated 2008 3nd Edition]
-Jane Stevens