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happiness

Happy Ever After

If you believe that happiness comes from being wealthy, successful, educated, married with children, healthy, etc., then read this book, and your beliefs will be challenged. The author, Paul Dolan, is a Professor of Behavioral Science who explores the concept of happiness by challenging societal norms. I enjoyed this book because it has many thought-provoking chapters that made me reflect a lot and gave me a fresh perspective on our society. It stayed with me long after I finished reading it. Title: Happy Ever After:… Read More »Happy Ever After

Happiness

Happiness

In a world consumed by the pursuit of material success and external appearances, this book offers a profound exploration of what it truly means to be happy. The author, a Buddhist monk, also known as the happiest person in the world, shares his insights on happiness from a scientific, philosophical, and personal perspective. Understanding that we are neither perfect nor completely happy is not a weakness. Right from the start, Ricard clarifies that this book isn’t strictly about Buddhism, yet the essence of Buddhist teachings… Read More »Happiness

Women Who Think Too Much (by Susan Nolen-Hoeksema)

I was hooked on this book from the first page as it got straight to the point.  The first part explained the concept of overthinking and provided potential explanations for why women tend to overthink.  The second part offered practical steps to overcome overthinking in three phases: 1) breaking free of its grip, 2) moving to higher ground and gaining a new perspective, and 3) avoiding future traps. I found the author’s use of the quicksand analogy to be spot-on and effective.  The third part of the… Read More »Women Who Think Too Much (by Susan Nolen-Hoeksema)

Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? (by Julie Smith)

This book! I had an instant connection with it, it felt like the author was speaking directly to me. She educates us about how our mind works and how it can affect our moods and emotions. She also provides us with useful and practical tools we need to manage our mental health. Julie Smith is a therapist so the content of the book is not that mumbo-jumbo spiritual stuff that you find on the internet. All those self-help books that told the world to just… Read More »Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? (by Julie Smith)

Peace Is Every Step (by Thich Nhat Hanh)

I kept having a smile on my face while I was reading this book. It made me feel calm and reminded me of “The wisdom of no escape” by Pema Chödrön. Thich Nhat Hanh was a Buddhist monk and peace activist who had a significant impact on Buddhism around the world and specifically he was one of the first to bring the concept of mindfulness to the West. In the 1960s, he worked to bring an end to the conflict in his native Vietnam through… Read More »Peace Is Every Step (by Thich Nhat Hanh)

Into the Wild (by Jon Krakauer)

A few years ago, I watched the film that was the adaptation of this book. The film was inspiring and emotional – I expected the same from the book. Perhaps, I even expected more given that a book is always richer than a film in details. WARNING – THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE FILM so if you want to watch it, which I’d highly recommend, stop reading here and come back once you’ve watched the film :-). However, the book was only a bit… Read More »Into the Wild (by Jon Krakauer)

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (by Mark Manson)

The main message delivered by the author of this book, who is a popular blogger, is that we don’t have to be positive at all times and that what we should instead do is choose what deserves our attention. How many times have I been told in difficult situations: “Think positive!”, especially from people who have never been in that situation before and have zero idea what I might be feeling at that moment. Ironically, wanting to be positive implies that you’re not happy. It’s… Read More »The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (by Mark Manson)

Flow

Flow (by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi)

This is one of those books that I kept finding cited in a number of others that I have been reading, so much so that I had already got the concept of “flow” long before I read it. The author with the unpronounceable name – until you learn how to pronounce it – is a Hungarian psychologist who, about 70 years ago, moved to the USA and spent his career there. He died last year (in 2021) at the age of 87. Csíkszentmihályi‘s research and… Read More »Flow (by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi)

The Wisdom of No Escape

The Wisdom of No Escape

Peaceful and calm. This is what I felt while I was reading this book. It was easy to read and it came at just the right time. It’s a good reminder to compassionately accept who we are, that we are all interconnected, that suffering is part of life and that it’s not by pushing away painful things that we can be happy. An encouragement to see who we truly are and to observe how we react to our emotions and thoughts. I loved it when… Read More »The Wisdom of No Escape

Ikigai

Do you have a vegetable garden? If not, and if you want to live a long and happy life, you might consider having one. You’ve just learned one of the “secrets” of the longest-living people. Sorry for the spoiler. It wasn’t that much of a spoiler, though, wasn’t it? We already knew that. I have been curious about this book for a while given its aggressive promotion and I have become familiar with the Ikigai diagram even before reading the book. In this read, I expected to find some… Read More »Ikigai