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A review by j_m_alexander
What Happy People Know: How the New Science of Happiness Can Change Your Life for the Better by Cameron Stauth, Dan Baker
3.0
Self-help type reading that is intellectually stimulating and largely commonsensical, but still enlightening for anyone that is willing to be honest with themselves and open enough to let go of their fears and actively work on happiness.
This is not 'preachy', nor too 'new-age(y)', nor filled with technical 'psycho-babble'. The book is written in a conversational way, and yet fairly formulaic. Essentially a premise is presented, expanded upon, and then a specific case/personal story allows the reader to see how the premise applies to real people. One premise builds upon the previous and thus a fairly complete theory/philosophy regarding happiness is constructed. I did not go into this book expecting to get too much out of it, but it really allows you to stop and think about basic realities that make a big difference in your day-to-day happiness. So much of our lives is spent reacting to fear or trudging along aimlessly, and this text provides a framework for rethinking the choices that we make everyday without really thinking at all. I think you can get as much out of this information as you're willing to and I'm sure I will revisit this book from time to time to remind myself not to fall into the same traps that I know I am prone to.
Thank you to my mother-in-law, a psychologist, that provided me with this book (among others over time). It is always nice to have someone that enjoys an exchange of ideas and information from a different perspective. Podcast and book sharing, and the subsequent discussions, have become a large part of our relationship and with each my appreciation for her grows.
This is not 'preachy', nor too 'new-age(y)', nor filled with technical 'psycho-babble'. The book is written in a conversational way, and yet fairly formulaic. Essentially a premise is presented, expanded upon, and then a specific case/personal story allows the reader to see how the premise applies to real people. One premise builds upon the previous and thus a fairly complete theory/philosophy regarding happiness is constructed. I did not go into this book expecting to get too much out of it, but it really allows you to stop and think about basic realities that make a big difference in your day-to-day happiness. So much of our lives is spent reacting to fear or trudging along aimlessly, and this text provides a framework for rethinking the choices that we make everyday without really thinking at all. I think you can get as much out of this information as you're willing to and I'm sure I will revisit this book from time to time to remind myself not to fall into the same traps that I know I am prone to.
Thank you to my mother-in-law, a psychologist, that provided me with this book (among others over time). It is always nice to have someone that enjoys an exchange of ideas and information from a different perspective. Podcast and book sharing, and the subsequent discussions, have become a large part of our relationship and with each my appreciation for her grows.