The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want

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UC Riverside psychology professor Sonja Lyubomirsky delivers an interesting book that is the culmination of her career-long research into, and the results from, studying human happiness. Sonja seeks to answer 3 basic questions: What makes people happy? Is it possible to become happier? Does it matter? The results from her research overwhelmingly reveal that “happy individuals experience and react to events and circumstances in relatively more positive and more adaptive ways. For example…happy individuals are relatively more likely than their less happy peers to “endow” positive memories (i.e., store them in their emotional “bank accounts”) but to “contrast” negative memories (i.e., “life is so much better now”)”. Through this book, the author explains that taking actions to constructing happiness is not a lofty and silly goal  – instead, it is the most logical process, because it forces us to focus on the aspects of our happiness that are directly within our control, namely our behavior.  The book also provides 12 specific activities that can help raise happiness through conscious and intentional actions, and discusses ways to make sure that these processes lead to consistently abiding happiness that lasts. An easy to approach and practical program that can help anyone implement the many aspects of ‘positive psychology’ into their everyday lives.

Dr. Lynn K. Jones is a Certified Personal and Executive Coach based in Santa Barbara, California and a sought after coach and consultant for organizations and individuals across the US.   Her doctoral work completed at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University concerned organizational culture; she coaches, consults and trains organizations on what they need to do to create organizational cultures that are aligned with their vision and values using a process of Appreciative Inquiry.  She coaches individual on achieving their reflected best selves.  An MSW@USC faculty member, Dr. Lynn K. Jones, MSW, DSW, CSWM, teaches Human Behavior and Social Environment.