Technology, at least in theory, is improving our productivity, efficiency, and communication. The one thing it's not doing is making us happier. We are experiencing historically high levels of depression and dissatisfaction. But we can change that. Knowing that technology is here to stay and will continue to evolve in form and function, we need to know how to navigate the future to achieve a better balance between technology, productivity, and well-being. Technology can drive—not diminish—human happiness. In The Future of Happiness, author Amy Blankson, cofounder of the global positive psychology consulting firm GoodThink, unveils five strategies successful individuals can use, not just to survive—but actually thrive—in the Digital Age: • Stay Grounded to focus your energy and increase productivity • Know Thyself through app-driven data to strive toward your potential • Train Your Brain to develop and sustain an optimistic mindset • Create a Habitat for Happiness to maximize the spaces where you live, work, and learn • Be a Conscious Innovator to help make the world a better place By rethinking when, where, why, and how you use technology, you will not only influence your own well-being but also help shape the future of your community. Discover how technologies can transform the idea of "I'll be happy when . . ." to being happy now.
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • An engaging, deeply researched guide to flourishing in a world of increasing stress and negativity—the inspiration for one of the most popular TED Talks of all time “Powerful [and] charming . . . A book for just about anyone . . . The philosophies in this book are easily the best wire frames to build a happy and successful life.”—Medium Happiness is not the belief that we don’t need to change; it is the realization that we can. Our most commonly held formula for success is broken. Conventional wisdom holds that once we succeed, we’ll be happy; that once we get that great job, win that next promotion, lose those five pounds, happiness will follow. But the science reveals this formula to be backward: Happiness fuels success, not the other way around. Research shows that happy employees are more productive, more creative, and better problem solvers than their unhappy peers. And positive people are significantly healthier and less stressed and enjoy deeper social interaction than the less positive people around them. Drawing on original research—including one of the largest studies of happiness ever conducted—and work in boardrooms and classrooms across forty-two countries, Shawn Achor shows us how to rewire our brains for positivity and optimism to reap the happiness advantage in our lives, our careers, and even our health. His strategies include: • The Tetris Effect: how to retrain our brains to spot patterns of possibility so we can see and seize opportunities all around us • Social Investment: how to earn the dividends of a strong social support network • The Ripple Effect: how to spread positive change within our teams, companies, and families By turns fascinating, hopeful, and timely, The Happiness Advantage reveals how small shifts in our mind-set and habits can produce big gains at work, at home, and elsewhere.
Stop Seeking Happiness; Just Get Out of Its Way! Happiness is our natural state, for each of us and for humanity as a whole, argues John Izzo. But that happiness is being stolen by insidious mental patterns that he depicts as thieves: the thief of control, the thief of conceit, the thief of coveting, the thief of consumption, and the thief of comfort. He discovered these thieves as he sought the true source of happiness during a year-long sabbatical, walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain and living in the Andes of Peru. This thoughtful and inspiring book describes the disguises these thieves wear, the tools they use to break into our hearts, and how to lock them out once and for all. Izzo shows how these same thieves of personal happiness are destroying society as well. This book will help us all discover, develop, and defend the happiness that is our true nature while creating a world we all want to live in.
Life is there to be enjoyed, not endured' In Five Steps to Happiness, Cognitive Behavioural Therapist Enda Murphy guides the reader through the five kinds of thinking and behaviour that lead to panic attacks, anxiety and depression. With a unique and simple style, free from psychobabble, Enda explains the reasons why most of us have these five habits. He clarifies what mental health actually is and investigates why we keep driving the thinking and behaviour that causes our unhappiness. He explains where our emotions come from and challenges our perception of what we think is normal. The five habits are also described in exercises throughout the book which teach the reader how they manifest themselves and how to identify the triggers behind them. With many of his ex clients allowing him to use their stories, Enda is able to demonstrate the development of each habit through a stage-by-stage examination of each client's experience. It is this clear and exact approach that makes Murphy's book so effective at getting to the root of why we experience mental distress. Through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Enda teaches the reader methods whereby those of us who experience mental health difficulties can introduce into our lives, skills to change our destructive thinking and behaviours. While primarily a book for those who are experiencing anxiety and depression, it is also one for those wishing to understand why these conditions occur, those whose families and friends may be suffering and also therapists and health professionals who would like to learn more about how Cognitive Behavioural Therapy works in real life.
In this important, entertaining book, one of the world's most celebrated psychologists, Martin Seligman, asserts that happiness can be learned and cultivated, and that everyone has the power to inject real joy into their lives. In Authentic Happiness, he describes the 24 strengths and virtues unique to the human psyche. Each of us, it seems, has at least five of these attributes, and can build on them to identify and develop to our maximum potential. By incorporating these strengths - which include kindness, originality, humour, optimism, curiosity, enthusiasm and generosity -- into our everyday lives, he tells us, we can reach new levels of optimism, happiness and productivity. Authentic Happiness provides a variety of tests and unique assessment tools to enable readers to discover and deploy those strengths at work, in love and in raising children. By accessing the very best in ourselves, we can improve the world around us and achieve new and lasting levels of authentic contentment and joy.
What if you could change your life--without changing your life? Gretchen had a good marriage, two healthy daughters, and work she loved--but one day, stuck on a city bus, she realized that time was flashing by, and she wasn’t thinking enough about the things that really mattered. “I should have a happiness project,” she decided. She spent the next year test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific studies, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Each month, she pursued a different set of resolutions: go to sleep earlier, quit nagging, forget about results, or take time to be silly. Bit by bit, she began to appreciate and amplify the happiness that already existed in her life. Written with humour and insight, Gretchen’s story will inspire you to start your own happiness project. Now in a beautiful, expanded edition, Gretchen offers a wealth of new material including happiness paradoxes and practical tips on many daily matters: being a more light-hearted parent, sticking to a fitness routine, getting your sweetheart to do chores without nagging, coping when you forget someone’s name and more.
There is a paradox at the heart of our lives. We all want more money, but as societies become richer, they do not become happier. This is not speculation: It's the story told by countless pieces of scientific research. We now have sophisticated ways of measuring how happy people are, and all the evidence shows that on average people have grown no happier in the last fifty years, even as average incomes have more than doubled. The central question the great economist Richard Layard asks in Happiness is this: If we really wanted to be happier, what would we do differently? First we'd have to see clearly what conditions generate happiness and then bend all our efforts toward producing them. That is what this book is about-the causes of happiness and the means we have to effect it. Until recently there was too little evidence to give a good answer to this essential question, but, Layard shows us, thanks to the integrated insights of psychology, sociology, applied economics, and other fields, we can now reach some firm conclusions, conclusions that will surprise you. Happiness is an illuminating road map, grounded in hard research, to a better, happier life for us all.
An unconventional book of wisdom and life advice from renowned business school professor and New York Times bestselling author of The Four Scott Galloway. Scott Galloway teaches brand strategy at NYU's Stern School of Business, but his most popular lectures deal with life strategy, not business. In the classroom, on his blog, and in YouTube videos garnering millions of views, he regularly offers hard-hitting answers to the big questions: What's the formula for a life well lived? How can you have a meaningful career, not just a lucrative one? Is work/life balance possible? What are the elements of a successful relationship? The Algebra of Happiness: Notes on the Pursuit of Success, Love, and Meaning draws on Professor Galloway's mix of anecdotes and no-BS insight to share hard-won wisdom about life's challenges, along with poignant personal stories. Whether it's advice on if you should drop out of school to be an entrepreneur (it might have worked for Steve Jobs, but you're probably not Steve Jobs), ideas on how to position yourself in a crowded job market (do something "boring" and move to a city; passion is for people who are already rich), discovering what the most important decision in your life is (it's not your job, your car, OR your zip code), or arguing that our relationships to others are ultimately all that matter, Galloway entertains, inspires, and provokes. Brash, funny, and surprisingly moving, The Algebra of Happiness represents a refreshing perspective on our need for both professional success and personal fulfillment, and makes the perfect gift for any new graduate, or for anyone who feels adrift.
“If freedom and joy are what you seek, I couldn’t recommend this book more.” —Rhonda Byrne, New York Times best-selling author of The Secret and The Greatest Secret Happiness Is Free is filled with profound insights and practical tools that will guide you to let go of painful feelings, unwanted thoughts, and negative stories and naturally open up to the happiness and unlimited potential that is within you right now. And it’s easier than you think. Simple but powerful questions for self-inquiry and effective techniques will empower you to gently let go of what, just a moment ago, seemed like an unsolvable issue or overwhelming emotion—anything from anger and frustration to fear, anxiety, and stress. You’ll learn how to apply easy-to-use practices for letting go—including Holistic Releasing, Triple Welcoming, and others—to find more joy and peace of mind in every area of your life. In each chapter, renowned teachers Lester Levenson and Hale Dwoskin (New York Times best-selling author of The Sedona Method) offer life-changing opportunities to break free from self-imposed blocks and rediscover the real, unlimited you—and the ultimate happiness that is your birthright. Their combination of liberating insights, inspiration, and deep releasing explorations make this book a treasured companion for anyone who is seeking to navigate everyday life with greater ease, clarity, and sense of true purpose. "One of my most treasured books that changed my life is Lester's Keys to the Ultimate Freedom. It features Lester's words and insights drawn from decades of his teachings, and it is the only book that sits on my bedside table. Unfortunately the book has been out of print for a long time, but Hale Dwoskin has taken all of Lester's teachings from Keys to the Ultimate Freedom and put them in this new book, along with many of the releasing methods from the Sedona Method. You have the best of Lester's teachings and his methods in this one book, and if freedom and joy are what you seek, I couldn't recommend this book more. I used the Sedona Method occasionally over a ten-year period and found enormous benefit from it. Then, when I met my teacher -- who was a student of Lester Levenson's -- four years ago, Lester's releasing methods became a crucial part of my everyday life and my awakening." -- From the forward by Rhonda Byrne, New York Times best-selling author of The Secret and The Greatest Secret “Happiness is about remembering who you really are, and if you have forgotten, this book is an excellent reminder.” —Deepak Chopra, author of The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success “If the roots of all suffering are attachments to the external, the roots of true joy are found only within. This book maps the ways to a profound state of peace.” —James Redfield, author of The Celestine Prophecy “Be set free with the brilliance and insights in this book.” —Mark Victor Hansen, co-creator of the #1 New York Times best-selling series Chicken Soup for the Soul® “Once in a human while, an individual comes along who has unlocked the secrets of happiness and opens the door for others to follow. Lester Levenson was such a one.... Happiness Is Free offers rare and penetrating insight into the freedom we all long for. This book can take you home.” —Alan Cohen, author of The Dragon Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
