This book is about Happiness pure and simple.

For many though these days happiness is a concept rather than a reality.

Or it might be that happiness as such comes in fits and starts.

Or maybe when you are happy, you feel guilty for some reason.

If there is any part of you that has experienced the feeling that happiness is something that you pursue, or deserve or strive for then this little book will open your eyes to a different way of viewing every aspect of your life. Which could lead to happiness!

The book is grounded in positive psychology and scientific knowledge. It weaves together those scientific studies, scholarly research, self help ideas and to a degree ‘spiritual  enlightenment’

Mind you, only you can decide what that last part means. And that is partly the point of this book and why I almost always refer clients to it. A key message and challenge of this book is to figure out what gives you meaning. He has a model called MPS – standing for Meaning, Pleasure and Strengths.

For many, knowing what your strengths are and what you like doing is easy. Not so easy is clarifying what gives you meaning.  The writer uses this platform to suggest creating and pursuing goals that have all 3 elements.

Tal Ben-Shahar shares his own story about achieving a lifelong goal.  After experiencing euphoric highs after the achievement, he experienced the ‘so what’ phase.

When I am working with clients, the goals clients set we always check have all 3 components – meaning, pleasure and strengths. This gives the pursuit of the goal real momentum and energy. And that pulls clients through change in quite a different way to being ‘driven’ through.

The book has plenty of practical stories and examples and what I really love about this book is that it has a whole programme to work through. There are exercises to stop and take ‘time-in’ as he puts it.

This book is for anyone who is interested in learning about themselves and what makes them happy.  That knowledge helps clarify visions and goals to pursue that have energy and alignment. It usually too, results in the reader realising that they might just be happier than they thought!

After reading Happier, you could also read ‘Even Happier’ also by Tal Ben-Shahar.  This books builds on the first by providing a week by week guided journal using the years worth of exercises to be happy every day – and why not!

Both books are books that are more than a read and put aside. They are a tool to use, reflect on their messages and to start to live and be conscious from.

I only recommend books that I have read and whole heartedly encourage others to read. In the interests of transparency, this is an affiliate link to Amazon. Click on the links below to see both of these books at Amazon.