Happiness isn’t the too-brief rush that comes from getting something you’ve wanted—it’s the lasting great feeling that comes from becoming someone you want to be. And someone others want to be with, too. No matter where you start, Happy can help you improve your life and permanently alter your level of happiness.
Dr. Ian has inspired millions to lose weight. In counseling dieters, Smith learned that while achieving hard-fought goals can help make a person happy, even real accomplishments may not make happiness stick. In Happy, Dr. Ian Smith presents a simple program that motivates readers to understand the behaviors and mind-sets that work and last, including:
–How to be optimistic
–Why optimism and realism are not opposites
–The importance of family and community
–Tapping the power of simple pleasures
–Mastering modern life to live in the moment
–What we can learn from the Danish people
Happy is a life-changing book from one of America’s most trusted voices.
This Book is a Life Changer! A MUST Read!!! I got an early copy of this book and after finding so much success and wisdom’s in Dr. Smith’s other books, I couldn’t wait to get started on HAPPY. I must tell you that right away I was taken in by this book. I don’t read introductions often, but this introduction was so personal and opened up a window into Dr. Smith who I have watched on TV for many years, but didn’t know much about his background. I read more than half of this book in one sitting and finished it up before I went to sleep. Once I started reading it, I simply couldn’t put it down. So much of it made perfect sense and it was such an easy read. What I also love about the book is that Dr. Smith bases it on real scientific research. It’s about about the real science behind happiness and what leading experts have found to be true when it comes to finding and holding on to happiness. I must admit that reading it made me see a lot of things that I’ve been doing wrong and it also showed me how to make small changes to start doing things right. I have had my own difficulties in life, so I have read a lot of books about being positive and living more optimistically. I must say that Dr. Smith’s book is head and shoulders above the rest. Here are some of the things you learn:The true secret of happiness isn’t found in material measures of success. The secret is much simpler and closer to home. It’s all about setting or re-setting your priorities, something HAPPY teaches you to do so easily. The book shows that studies reveal that happiness is 50% genetic, but 40% we can control. Dr. Smith focuses on this 40% has he gives us ways to immediately boost our happiness. He has an entire chapter dedicated to happiness boosters. I have tried most of them already and they WORK and they are so EASY!Dr. Smith says that Happiness is found in:* family* community* getting outside of oneself* being a part of something larger* helping others* simple pleasuresIf you’re looking to change your life and improve your happiness, this book is for you. I’m so grateful for your work, Dr. Smith. You never let me down. I already feel like a new person with a new attitude. Thanks so much!!
A good start for people who want to be happier I am using Dr. Smith’s book with clients in my psychotherapy practice. The chapter which has been most useful is the “Silver Lining” which discusses in non-psychobabble language the fundamentals of cognitive behavioral therapy. Clients have purchased his book and have read it and it has complemented my explanation of the model of cognitive therapy. The only problematic point as a therapist is his focus on increasing social/family ties to promote self-happiness, when some people are happy pursuing more solitary or different ‘happy’ behaviors. Clients who have read the book are concerned that they are not being happy ‘in the right way.’ Now, when I recommend that his book might be helpful, it is with a caveat that factors which promote his happiness may be completely different from factors that promote their happiness. For example, I have had to counter client belief that if they are not being social then they will never be happy because Dr. Smith uses his family background as a frame of reference for happiness when there are many ways of being happy. If other therapists use this book as a tool in therapy, it should be used in conjunction with Seligman’s work on positive psychology. A book I would recommend in conjunction with Dr. Smith’s book is “Authentic Happiness.” Being ‘happy’ carries the ability to have a healthy sense of selfishness independent of how that selfishness is expressed as long as it is not harmful to others in one’s life. Suzanne B. Yellen, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist (IL)
Bridget’s Review All of us go through a time in our lives when being happy just doesn’t seem realistic. When I was going through my divorce, I wasn’t even able to remember what that five letter word meant. I wish that I would have had a copy of this book back then.Ian breaks the emotions down for you in an easy to understand manner that has such a positive feel to it that you can’t help but feel better. Here is what you will learn from reading this book:–How to be optimistic–Why optimism and realism are not opposites–How to get outside yourself–The importance of family and community–Why involvement leads to contentment–Shedding the treadmill mentality of getting and spending–Tapping the power of simple pleasures–Mastering modern life to live in the moment–What we can learn from the Danish people–How to be, not just to doIan is a natural writer who motivates and reassures readers that they are capable of happiness by setting their mentality and not giving up. This book would make a great graduation gift. I really enjoyed this book and all the lessons it taught me.