By: William D. Webber

William D. Webber — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 08:23:49 +0000

The subtitle indicates what is different from the many books on happiness I am using this book as a text for the Elder hostel class I teach. The title interest potential students and makes them expect they will learn things that they can apply to their own lives. They are not disappointed. It is unique because the author has included all ages in her insights, for example the chapter "I Can't be Happy When the Best years of my Life Are Over".

By: Wulfstan "wulfstan"

Wulfstan "wulfstan" — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 08:06:12 +0000

“I’ll be happy when I…” How many times have we said that or heard that? “I’ll be happy when I…”"Get out of my parent house into my own place”"Get out of this fleabag apartment into my own home”"Get out of being underwater so I can refi this house”"Get enough equity to roll this place over into my dream house”"Get out of this great big house and downsize”And it never ends. You may not be one of those people, but I bet you know someone who is, And if you do- get them this book. Yes, it’s true, there are some things that once achieved (such as having enough food to eat, a warm place to sleep, someone to be with you) will increase your chances of being `happy”. But other than those basic needs, thinking that “I will be happy once I…” is a certain recipe for disappointment.This book is a follow up to “The How of Happiness”. Sonja Lyubomirsky is a Professor of Social Psychology, and knows her stuff. “A recent interest has steered me from the search of the roots of happiness to an examination of its consequences. Is happiness a good thing? Or, does it just simply feel good? A review of all the available literature has revealed that happiness does indeed have numerous positive byproducts, which appear to benefit not only individuals, but families, communities, and the society at large . The benefits of happiness include higher income and superior work outcomes (e.g., greater productivity and higher quality of work), larger social rewards (e.g., more satisfying and longer marriages, more friends, stronger social support, and richer social interactions), more activity, energy, and flow, and better physical health (e.g., a bolstered immune system, lowered stress levels, and less pain) and even longer life.”"We must stop waiting for happiness, and we must stop being terrified of the potential for unhappiness… nothing in life is as joy-producing or as misery-inducing as we think it is.”Right, we must stop waiting for happiness.

Comments on: The Myths of Happiness: What Should Make You Happy, but Doesn’t, What Shouldn’t Make You Happy, but Does

By: William D. Webber

By: Wulfstan "wulfstan"