Happy Habits
A Happier, Healthier Life One Minute at a Time
Tal Ben-Shahar’s encouraging self-help book is about why people’s efforts to change so often fail. It suggests strategies for turning failure and frustration into success, well-being, and fulfillment.
Asserting that failures to make lasting change are the result of either having set goals that are too ambitious or using ineffective methods, the book draws upon positive psychology, the science of habit formation, studies in brain neuroplasticity, and personal experiences to argue that small, consistent actions lead to meaningful, lasting change. In a conversational tone, it investigates the spiritual, intellectual, relational, physical, and emotional facets of happiness and reveals the power of Minimum Viable Interventions (MVIs) to effect positive change.
Clear, step-by-step instructions for performing the suggested actions and exercises appear. The book demonstrates, for example, how small acts of kindness increase happiness for both the giver and the receiver. It also asserts that three-minute meditations can improve focus and reduce anxiety, while writing down five things to be grateful for can improve one’s mood, sleep, and health. Other tips include seeking short daily bursts of high-intensity exercise, like stair-climbing, to improve one’s fitness and better one’s mood. Even the simple act of hugging is recommended to release oxytocin, elevating one’s mood and reducing one’s stress levels.
Adaptable to individual schedules and needs, the book encourages resolving one’s most pressing issues first. After celebrating such achievements, it says, people can draw on their resultant confidence boosts to address next challenges. As such, its program is incremental, building successes upon successes in an ever-ascending spiral up.
Happy Habits is an optimistic self-help guide to making small, accessible changes that lead to big, lasting results.
Reviewed by
Kristine Morris
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
