2024 the best-selling book on happiness review

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INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • An engaging, deeply researched guide to flourishing in a world of increasing stress and negativity—the inspiration for one of the most popular TED Talks of all time

“Powerful [and] charming . . . A book for just about anyone . . . The philosophies in this book are easily the best wire frames to build a happy and successful life.”—Medium

Happiness is not the belief that we don’t need to change; it is the realization that we can.

Our most commonly held formula for success is broken. Conventional wisdom holds that once we succeed, we’ll be happy; that once we get that great job, win that next promotion, lose those five pounds, happiness will follow. But the science reveals this formula to be backward: Happiness fuels success, not the other way around.
 
Research shows that happy employees are more productive, more creative, and better problem solvers than their unhappy peers. And positive people are significantly healthier and less stressed and enjoy deeper social interaction than the less positive people around them.
 
Drawing on original research—including one of the largest studies of happiness ever conducted—and work in boardrooms and classrooms across forty-two countries, Shawn Achor shows us how to rewire our brains for positivity and optimism to reap the happiness advantage in our lives, our careers, and even our health. His strategies include:
 
• The Tetris Effect: how to retrain our brains to spot patterns of possibility so we can see and seize opportunities all around us
• Social Investment: how to earn the dividends of a strong social support network
• The Ripple Effect: how to spread positive change within our teams, companies, and families
 
By turns fascinating, hopeful, and timely, The Happiness Advantage reveals how small shifts in our mind-set and habits can produce big gains at work, at home, and elsewhere.

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Shows how to unlock hidden sources of potential in ourselves and others Helps answer the question: Why are some people able to make positive change while others remain the same?

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown Currency (June 5, 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0307591557
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0307591555
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.13 x 0.55 x 8 inches
Reviewer: Dr. David Farrar
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Key insights into how to be happy based in solid psychological research
Review: "The Happiness Advantage: How a Positive Brain Fuels Success in Work and Life" by Shawn Achor is a compelling book that turns traditional thinking about happiness and success on its head. Based on positive psychology principles and research, Achor proposes that happiness is not just a result of success but a precursor to it. Here’s a summary of key concepts and insights from the book, which I find particularly relevant and insightful:- Positive Psychology at Work: Achor, who spent over a decade at Harvard University studying happiness, draws on his own research and that of others in the field of positive psychology to argue that a positive mindset can significantly increase motivation, efficiency, resilience, creativity, and, ultimately, success in the workplace.- The Happiness Advantage: The core idea of the book is that individuals who cultivate a positive mindset experience a 'happiness advantage'. This advantage manifests as enhanced brain function, which in turn leads to better problem-solving abilities, creativity, and job performance. Achor presents seven principles that individuals can use to improve their happiness and success rates.- Seven Principles: These principles include the power of positive psychology, the fulcrum and the lever (changing your experience of reality through mindset), the Tetris Effect (training your brain to spot patterns of possibility), falling up (finding the path out of failure), the Zorro Circle (focusing on small, manageable goals to gain control over the bigger picture), the 20-second rule (reducing barriers to change with small energy adjustments), and social investment (relying on social support to overcome challenges).- Evidence-Based Strategies: Achor provides practical, evidence-based strategies for increasing happiness and productivity. These include gratitude exercises, the practice of positive journaling, exercise, meditation, and fostering social connections.- Applications in the Workplace: The book also delves into how organizations can apply these principles to create happier and more productive work environments. Achor discusses how positive leadership and a culture that prioritizes happiness can lead to significant improvements in job satisfaction, engagement, and performance.From a professional standpoint, especially for someone with a background in psychology and business, "The Happiness Advantage" offers valuable insights into how positive psychological practices can be leveraged for personal growth and organizational improvement. The book supports the idea that fostering a positive mindset and happiness in individuals can lead to more profound success and fulfillment, not just in their personal lives but also in their professional endeavors. Achor’s work is a testament to the power of positive psychology in transforming workplaces and enhancing leadership effectiveness, making it a valuable resource for consultants aiming to drive positive change in organizations.

Reviewer: Sheri Tousey
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Book, The Happiness Advantage
Review: Excellent, life changing. Every one should read this book. Positive message. Valuable perspective. This would be a thoughtful present for the holidays

Reviewer: Ian Mann
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: you’ll be happy. The success could be the raise in your ...
Review: This book, published six years ago, succinctly captures seven principles that will enhance anyone’s work life. While many of the ideas are found elsewhere, this is an engaging summary account. If you take the advice to heart, you will have a distinct advantage in the workplace. I will share just three principles.The first is the debunking of a myth. The myth is that if you work hard, you can achieve success in your chosen field, and once you achieve success, you’ll be happy. The success could be the raise in your salary or position in the organization, status or great wealth.Ground-breaking research in the fields of positive psychology and neuroscience, has demonstrated unequivocally that there is a relationship between success and happiness - however not in the direction we commonly assume.Meta-analysis of happiness research of over 200 scientific studies on nearly 275,000 people, demonstrates that happiness leads to success in nearly every area of our lives, from marriage to health, and more specifically in our careers and businesses.Success does not lead to happiness; happiness leads to success! Success is not the cause of happiness: it is the result of happiness as evidenced by literally thousands of scientific studies. This explains the title of the book – The Happiness Advantage.One simple illustration was an experiment with 4-year olds that demonstrated the positive effects of happiness on solving puzzles. Some of the children were first asked to recall events that made them happy, and the others were simply asked to solve the puzzle. In the lives of 4-year olds, the event that made them happy was recalling the jelly they had at lunch, and this made them more successful. Similarly, happy recollections had a positive effect on the accuracy of doctors doing a complex diagnosis!Finding anything in your day at work that makes you feel happier will make you more productive. While this may seem simplistic, the scientific evidence is unassailable, and it would be ridiculous not to use this insight. That is why sophisticated companies cultivate working environments where employees experience small bursts of happiness - sharing birthday cake or a quick game of pool.You too could do this in your business.Another principle for improving happiness and consequently success, Achor calls ‘the Tetris Effect’.In one study students played Tetris, (a shape-forming computer game,) for hours. For days after the study, some participants literally couldn’t stop seeing the world as sets of Tetris shapes, from books on tables to actually dreaming about shapes falling from the sky.This effect is called a “cognitive afterimage,” very similar to the dots in your vision seconds after someone takes a flash-photograph of you.Achor describes work he had been doing with the tax accountant KPMG, to help their tax auditors and managers become happier. These are people who spend 8 to 14 hours a day finding errors in tax forms and like the students who had played Tetris, their brains were becoming wired to look for mistakes. “When they went home to their families, they noticed only the C’s on their kids’ report cards, never the A’s.”The problem is being unable to compartmentalize abilities: athletes who can’t stop competing with their friends or families, and managers who can’t stop micromanaging their children’s lives. This is the negative Tetris Effect.Imagine a way of seeing that constantly picked up on the positives in every situation - the Positive Tetris Effect: “Instead of creating a cognitive pattern that looks for negatives and blocks success, it trains our brains to scan the world for the opportunities and ideas, that allow our success rate to grow.”Armed with positivity, the brain is open to possibility. “We can train our brains to let in these messages that make us more adaptive, more creative, and more motivated—messages that allow us to spot and pounce on more opportunities at work,” Achor explains.A now well-known study of the U.S. MetLife insurance agents, found that the more positive agents sold 37% more insurance than the more negative ones. When the company committed to hire agents picked solely on the basis of their positive thinking style, these agents out-sold their more negative colleagues by 21% in their first year of work, and by 57% in their second.The best way to kick-start this process is by listing the good things in your work and your life, daily. “In just five minutes a day, this trains the brain to become more skilled at noticing and focusing on possibilities for personal and professional growth, and seizing opportunities to act on them.”Achor’s ‘Social Investment’ happiness principle, is putting time and effort into friends, peers, and family members, probably our greatest single asset class.When disaster and collapse happened in the financial world in 2008, traders didn’t retreat to the stronghold of their teams in bars and coffee shops, as they normally did after a day of trading. They all walked off silent and alone. “At the very time that they needed one another most, they were forgoing their most valuable resource: their social support,” Achor notes.It is so easy and common to retreat into our own shells at the very moment when we most need to be reaching out to others. However, the most successful people, instead of turning inward, hold more tightly to their social support. These people are not only happier, but they are more productive, energetic, and resilient.The Harvard Men study, a 70-year study of 268 of Harvard freshmen in the late 1930s to the present, demonstrated that our relationships with other people matter more than anything else in the world. Bar none. When we have a spouse, family, friends, or colleagues we can count on, we multiply our emotional, intellectual, and physical abilities, recover from setbacks faster, and accomplish more.In another study researching the characteristics of the happiest 10% of people, one characteristic stood out above all others: the strength of their social relationships.If you must cut out some part of life to cope with the demands on your time, your social connections should be the last on the list. “When set adrift, it seems, those of us who hold on to our raftmates, not just our rafts, are the ones who will stay afloat,” says Achor pithily.The value of this book lies in the specific, actionable, and proven principles that predict success and achievement, and that can and should be incorporated into one’s life. Doing so will give you the “happiness advantage” that has been proven to increase success.Readability Light --+-- SeriousInsights High -+--- LowPractical High -+--- Low*Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy and is the author of Strategy that Works.

Reviewer: julie schwartz
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Get this book!
Review: This was a quick and easy read. It was recommended to me by a friend, and I love how it shows you the path to change your mindset and create happiness in whatever situation or circumstance you’re in.

Reviewer: legitimate buyer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Good book to read
Review: Was an interesting book to read in my opinion. Learned a good amount of stuff on it too.

Reviewer: Brownie
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: One of the best books I have read!
Review: This happens to be one of the best books in the field of positive psychology. Happiness is not a result of being successful. People who are successful are individuals who are happy in the first place. This book is simple and yet profound at the same time. The principles in this book are easy to apply and is based on solid research. I would definitely reread and recommend to others. For those in leadership, this book is invaluable.

Reviewer: Paula Pinto
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: The author’s sense of humor makes this book so enjoyable. It is dense and packed with information - which can be challenging to get through. However, if you focus on all the practical tools and the life changing information, it gets more exciting as you envision all the changes you can make in your life!

Reviewer: Garrett
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I really liked this book. Alot of really good info. The author makes alot of sense and I believe is very credible with his Harvard education.

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Great book, worth reading

Reviewer: Timo Rupprecht
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: "The Happiness Advantage" von Shawn Achor ist ein inspirierendes Buch, das positive Psychologie und persönliche Entwicklung miteinander verbindet. Hier ist eine mögliche Bewertung:Betreff: "Die Glücklichkeitsvorteile: Ein Blick auf das Positive"⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Shawn Achor's "The Happiness Advantage" ist ein erfrischendes Werk, das die Art und Weise, wie wir Erfolg und Glück betrachten, grundlegend verändert. Durch eine Kombination aus wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnissen und praxisorientierten Ansätzen zeigt Achor überzeugend auf, dass Glück nicht nur eine Folge des Erfolgs ist, sondern auch ein Wegweiser dazu.Die Stärke des Buches liegt in seiner wissenschaftlichen Fundierung, die dennoch leicht verständlich bleibt. Achor präsentiert Forschungsergebnisse auf unterhaltsame Weise und illustriert sie mit anschaulichen Beispielen aus dem Alltag. Die Idee, dass Glückliche produktiver sind und bessere Ergebnisse erzielen, ist überzeugend dargelegt.Besonders wertvoll sind die praktischen Tipps und Übungen, die Achor bietet, um positive Gewohnheiten zu entwickeln und das eigene Glücksniveau zu steigern. Die Anwendbarkeit im beruflichen und persönlichen Kontext macht das Buch zu einem wertvollen Begleiter für jeden, der nachhaltige Veränderungen in seinem Leben anstrebt."The Happiness Advantage" ist nicht nur ein Buch, sondern eine Anleitung zu einem erfüllten Leben. Es erinnert uns daran, dass Glück kein Zufall ist, sondern eine bewusste Wahl. Eine klare Empfehlung für alle, die nach einer positiven Perspektive auf Erfolg und Lebensqualität suchen.

Reviewer: Julian
Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Boek is helaas beschadigd aangekomen