Book: The How of Happiness

I am not a specialist in this subject but “the how of happiness“ by Sonja Lyubomirsky was a good overview of what is positive psychology to me. It was the book that hooked me on the subject.

Sonja develops 12 strategies to a happier life:

1. Practicing Gratitude,
2. Cultivating a More Optimistic Outlook,
3. Avoiding Rumination and Social Comparison,
4. Building Social Networks,
5. Practicing Kindness,
6. Developing Coping Strategies,
7. Practicing Forgiveness,
8. Increasing Flow,
9. Savoring Joys,
10. Setting and Working Toward’s Goals,
11. Engaging in Spirituality,
12. Developing Body and Mind

But the beauty of it is that it is based on empirical research.

It spoke to my left brain giving it loads of experiments and numbers to crunch. And it talked to my right brain because it’s all that has been great with my life lately and it was written black on white. I loved that book.

I immediately did a search on the net and I am now following Sonja’s blog and have enjoyed her work overview video at google. And if you have less than 5 minutes here is a casual TV interview:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwOROplhgL0[/youtube]

Sonja is also the cocreator of an Iphone application to be released by signal patterns: Live Happy

I highly recommend this book to those of you who want an entrance door to positive psychology.

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