Sonja LyubomirskyCritiques

If you read The Geography of Happiness, you might give this a try. Self-help books are often facile and silly, but this is research-based and that appeals to the scientist in me. The general analysis is that approximately 40% of our mood/attitudes is subject to our direct control (as in not biology or given life circumstances. It is a fascinating look at what one might be able to do with that 40% and how. The only section I skimmed was the one on spirituality/religion, but the others are well worth a look. Some repetition and a few wonky questionnaires aside, it is at least guaranteed to make you think again about what you really need to be happy.

boh!

boh!

I enjoyed this book and think the author is onto something real however I couldn't bring myself to fill in the many charts at the back of the book.

Un método probado para conseguir una vida plena y feliz Con La ciencia de la felicidad, la investigadora y profesora de psicología Sonja Lyubomirsky presenta el primer programa para incrementar la felicidad de las personas basado en investigaciones científicas. Sus estudios demuestran que, pese a lo que solemos pensar, la felicidad personal no depende de factores como el dinero, el trabajo, la pareja o la juventud. En realidad, sólo un diez por ciento en términos de felicidad se apoya en circunstancias externas. La capacidad para la felicidad es innata en un cincuenta por ciento, pero el cuarenta por ciento restante se atribuye a lo que hacemos y a lo que pensamos; esto es, a nuestras actividades intencionadas y a nuestras estrategias mentales. Por eso, todos y cada uno de nosotros poseemos aún un amplio potencial para la dicha y el bienestar al que podemos acceder si ponemos en práctica los ejercicios y las estrategias propuestos en este libro

1.5 stars. Was recommended but meh. Seems generally self-help books nowadays can be summed up as "Use cognitive biases to trick yourself!"

For me this book was a slow read but I like the concept of the book and I believe that society as a whole would do better, if we had more people teaching these truths. Perhaps if people knew it was normal to have these ebbs and flows of happiness in their relationships, there would be lower rates of divorce.

The key things I took away from the book was the importance of gratitude and remembering (how things use to be) plays into us having fulfilling lives. In the end, I was reminded of a saying I heard sometime ago—happiness is about happenings. And truth is that sometimes in life the happenings aren't so good but we can still choose to walk in joy.

I was provided a complimentary copy of the book through TLC Book Tours. No other compensation was provided. See the complete review at: The Watered Soul

This is a great read.

Uno de los mejores libros sobre felicidad. La autora se aleja de las recetas fáciles y aporta toda una serie de evidencias científicas que desmontan los mitos más extendidos en nuestra cultura sobre el hecho de ser feliz. Muy bien documentado, una estructura clara y fácil de leer.

Uno de los mejores libros sobre felicidad. La autora se aleja de las recetas fáciles y aporta toda una serie de evidencias científicas que desmontan los mitos más extendidos en nuestra cultura sobre el hecho de ser feliz. Muy bien documentado, una estructura clara y fácil de leer.

Unlike many happiness and self-help books, The How of Happiness is very solidly based in scientific research. The author, Sonja Lyubomirsky, is a psychology professor at UC Riverside with a degree from Stanford who does a great job pulling together current happiness research. The main premise of the book is that 50% of our happiness is inherited, only 10% is determined by circumstance, and 40% of our happiness is determined by our own thoughts and behavior. Activities presented here are intended to affect the proportion of happiness under our control.

I loved the empirical approach the author has taken to determining ways for people to become happier. A dozen happiness increasing actions are described, proceeded by a quiz to help determine the actions most helpful to you. Previous research studies have even been done to show that the activities are more helpful for people if they do those selected by the quiz! The reasons behind all the suggested actions are also explained and nearly every factual statement made is backed up by a citation.

This is one of the very few books I’ve reviewed that I’ve then gone out and purchased. The boy and I are both trying some of the activities and I think having it around as a reference could be helpful. There’s even an evaluation with which to check in periodically to measure whether the exercises are really helping. I have high hopes for it, but I’ll post some updates later once I know how it going.

This review first published on Doing Dewey.

I felt like I had already learned elsewhere much of what was in this book. However, for those who haven't read up much on the science of happiness, this should be a reasonably interesting read.

I read children’s picture books and travel narratives and creative nonfiction and literary fiction and Books About Happiness.

Yes, Books About Happiness. It’s one of my favorite genres.

I’ve read Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman and Happiness: Lessons from a New Science by Richard Leyman and Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project and Happier at Home and the Dalai Lama’s The Art of Happiness and Sonja Lyubomirsky’s earlier book, The How of Happiness.

How could I pass up Lyubomirsky’s new book, The Myths of Happiness?

Of course I couldn’t.

And I am happy to report that reading it was four hours happily spent.

Lyubomirsky’s underlying theme relies on the truth of two quotes: Pasteur reminds us, “Chance favors the prepared mind,” and Socrates notes, “He who is not contented with what he has, Would not be contented with what he would like to have.”

Chapter by chapter, Lyubomirsky examines all the myths of happiness we Americans hide in our hearts---all the I’ll Be Happy When’s and all the I Can’t Be Happy If’s---and explodes them, using a lovely combination of scientific research and case studies.

Turns out, we are much more resilient than we think we are. We keep walking through great traumas with scarcely more than a few months’ dip in happiness. We keep walking through great good fortune with scarcely more than a few months’ rise in happiness.

Interesting. Unexpected. Good to know.

Unlike many happiness and self-help books, The How of Happiness is very solidly based in scientific research. The author, Sonja Lyubomirsky, is a psychology professor at UC Riverside with a degree from Stanford who does a great job pulling together current happiness research. The main premise of the book is that 50% of our happiness is inherited, only 10% is determined by circumstance, and 40% of our happiness is determined by our own thoughts and behavior. Activities presented here are intended to affect the proportion of happiness under our control.

I loved the empirical approach the author has taken to determining ways for people to become happier. A dozen happiness increasing actions are described, proceeded by a quiz to help determine the actions most helpful to you. Previous research studies have even been done to show that the activities are more helpful for people if they do those selected by the quiz! The reasons behind all the suggested actions are also explained and nearly every factual statement made is backed up by a citation.

This is one of the very few books I’ve reviewed that I’ve then gone out and purchased. The boy and I are both trying some of the activities and I think having it around as a reference could be helpful. There’s even an evaluation with which to check in periodically to measure whether the exercises are really helping. I have high hopes for it, but I’ll post some updates later once I know how it going.

This review first published on Doing Dewey.

There are some helpful nuggets in this user-friendly guide to a universal theme: attaining happiness. One of the sub-titles in some editions positions the book as a "scientific approach" to the topic. Indeed, Lyubomirsky skillfully weaves in a number of relevant studies to bolster her assertions. It gets a bit dense and even repetitive in spots. But in general, "The How of Happiness" serves up some practical tips aimed at boosting people's happiness quotients. The first mission involves finding out what makes each of us tick. The author provides an easy-to-administer assessment test. Once the assessment is made, she presents a laundry list of activities that could help people to gain more satisfaction out of daily life. A couple examples: setting up a system that makes it easy to "savor" positive memories as a regular routine, and focusing on accomplishing intrinsic goals. I doubt that many would label this book a ground-breaking work, but I do think it's well worth reading.½

I have read 3 books thus far on Positive Psychology and this one offers the best activities and ways to incorporate them into your life, hands down! I strongly recommend this book for every person on the planet.

This book was appealing to me because many times I do feel like I'm not as happy as I could be. I found the topic really interesting, and the book was pretty well written overall. The basic idea is that we have a happiness "set point", and the reason why some people are happier than others is just because they are naturally, genetically born that way. However, you can raise your set point by being conscious of certain activities. Apparently 40% of your happiness can be controlled and changed.

It was an interesting combination of self help book and scientific study. There's a lot of research and evidence to back up the claims, and all of the suggestions are ones that come from Lyubomirsky's research. One thing that needs to be emphasized is that these are not easy, magic cures. It takes dedication to actually make yourself happier. I'm going to try several of them and see if they work - we'll see if I'm any happier!

My biggest complaint is that the book got pretty repetitive. In each section she talked about a different technique or activity, but needed to assert every time that research proves you can become happier and give the same examples of studies she's already mentioned. It was interesting the first time I read it, but after that it was just monotonous.

I think the biggest motivator here is just accepting the idea that you can change your own happiness. Once you accept that, it will be a lot easier to actually do. And at least some of the scientific evidence is very useful in reaching that conclusion.

Didn't like this one; typical academia, too sterile, boring, and not at all helpful. The book Happier was 100x better than this. Not recommended.

Here they are, the twelve hows:1. Expressing gratitude2. Cultivating optimism3. Avoiding overthinking and social comparison4. Practicing acts of kindness5. Nurturing social relationships6. Developing strategies for coping7. Forgive8. Increasing flow experiences9. Savoring life’s joys10. Committing to your goals11. Practicing religion and spirituality12. Taking care of your bodyHappiness is my focus this year. I feel quite certain I will come back to this book and this list.

I have read about 1/4 to 1/2 of this book. It gives hope -Talks about how a large percentage of our "happiness" we can control on our own by our behavior/controlling and changing our own thoughts, and shows how. I hope to get through the rest of this.

Dr.Lyubomirsky is one of the world's leading happiness researchers. Her book is very readable. It suggests strategies for increasing personal happiness and tells where our time is best spent. She says half of our happiness possibilities are based on our genetics, and another 10% is situational. It's the other 40% we control than we should be focusing our attention on. Part of my recommended list of happiness books.

About: Science-based ways of how to increase happiness

Review: Right off the bat, Lyubomirsky points out that we can only control 40% of our happiness (with half being genetic and 10% being environmental) but she suggest a bunch of techniques that have the backing of studies (which she cites) that have been shown to increase happiness. She notes that all techniques aren't for everyone so she encourages readers to choose the ones that fit their lifestyles. These techniques include practicing gratitude, forgiveness, goal setting, spirituality, exercise and living in the present (among other things). Ideas of of how to put these things to use are clearly spelled out. I really enjoyed this book, sources cited, great topic, well written, engaging, actually applicable to life.

Some random things I learned:

Marriage increases happiness for 2 years, then it returns to normal levels

Happiness also tends to eventually return to set point levels after both catastrophes and successes

People get happier with age

No one thing brings happiness

Overthinking (i.e. in times of anxiety, stress or insecurity) isn't good for you and just makes things worse

Helping others makes people happy

Hugging is good for happiness

The happier the person, the less he or she pays attention to what others around are doing

1,50

Jim Frangione