The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky

The How of Happiness claims to deliver a scientific approach to getting the life we want, a happy life, of course! In the glut of books about happiness (why is it such a popular topic?) this one is written by a social scientist who carefully backs each recommendation with the results of scientific studies. There’s the usual one about how neither winning the lottery nor suffering through a debilitating disease changes happiness levels much — and since I’ve ranted against that last point recently, I won’t do it again here — and many others, which the author organizes into twelve types of activities arranged in five groups: practicing positive thinking; managing stress; living in the present; pursuing goals; and taking care of body and soul. For each activity she gives several options and further activities to explore if that one resonated with you.

While reading the book my twelve-year old daughter happened to ask about it, and I explained how ruminating about problems could make things worse. To which she responded, being herself worried about a “tough” upcoming soccer game, that she simply distracts herself with other tasks (or food, she being of the sweet tooth tribe) when she gets overly worried about things. And sure enough, that was a technique blessed by the book.

Perhaps a book we will all need as the economic crisis pursues its course?

Happier by Tal Ben-Shahar

I picked up Happier because of the huge press about this book written by a Harvard professor who teaches a wildly successful undergraduate course of the same title. I was expecting to feel a little happier after reading it, or at least to pick up a few ideas on how to get there, and, well, nothing happened.

Nothing happened because, alhtough the author does a good job of describing current research on what’s different about happy people and how one may go about selecting activities that create a happy state, it’s all pretty common sense. So perhaps the ambitious, greedy, competitive Harvard freshmen need this kind of inspiration but I did not feel I needed a reminder that happiness occurs when you do something you love and you accomplish something meaningful to you rather than when you make a pile of money or buy that yacht.