Review: The How Of Happiness (1)

Currently I’m reading “The How Of Happiness – A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want” from Sonja Lyubomirsky a Ph. D. from the Stanford University. This post is part 1 of the review.

It is the first how-to-become-happier book authored by someone who has actually conducted research revealing how people can achieve a greater sense of happiness in their lives. The book starts with a very interesting question and a surprising answer.

What do you think would make you happier ?
- A relationship?
- An extra bedroom ?
- A baby?
- More money?
- More Time ?

If your answer looks anything like these you’re in for a surprise. None of these things will make you substantially happier. We often look for happiness in the wrong places. What we believe would make a huge difference in our lives, actually makes only a small difference, while we overlook the true sources of personal happiness and well-being. Why is it so hard for us to believe that money really doesn’t make us happy? Because the truth is that money does make us happy. BUT our misunderstanding is that “we think money will bring lots of happiness for a long time, and actually it brings a little happiness for a short time.”

The 40 Percent Solution
50% of the factors which determine happiness are the genetically Set Points. They can’t be changed and therefore they shouldn’t be in the focus. The smallest part by 10 % are the circumstances we live in. So life circumstances like house, money, etc. are not the keys to happiness. That means that the remaining 40 % is within our ability to control, the 40% for opportunities to increase or decrease our happiness levels through what we do in our daily lives and how we think. This is the interesting part and it is the main focus of the book.

Related posts:

1. Review: The How Of Happiness (2)
2. Review: The Art of Happiness (3)
3. Review: The Art of Happiness (1)
4. Review: The Art of Happiness (2)
5. Review: The Art of Happiness (4)