“How we think is how our lives work out”. This is the simple premise of the book, The Happy Mind, which aims to define what our own unique happiness is and how to get there. But what does this mean in practical terms?
Author: Kevin Horsley and Louis Fourie
Genre: Non-fiction / Psychology
Page Count: 127
My Review: ♠♠♠♠ 4 / 5
The Blurb
From the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Unlimited Memory comes a new book on finding happiness in life using the power of your mind.
Happiness is more than just a feeling—it’s a learned skill. When you master the habits of happiness, your life will be filled with more peace, purpose, and passion.
The search for happiness is fundamental for all humans, and the answers lie within the depths of your mind.
The Verdict
The authors of this book approach the pursuit of happiness in a scientific way. Kevin Horsley is an ‘International Grandmaster of Memory – a lifelong student of the brain and its capacities, and a speaker and trainer. Louis Fourie was an economist in South Africa for ten years and started a consultancy for emerging business leaders. What they have in common though, is an interest in living the optimal life and understanding how our thinking can help us get there.
The book begins by introducing us to what happiness actually is. It is not based on living in a certain place, it does not hinge on a certain time in our lives, having a certain job or what we look like. It comes from within and is achievable for all of us. It asks us to write down what we think being happy is and then check to see if our definition includes enough ‘in-here’ (internal) factors and not ‘out-there’.
The premise of the book is that “to fully live is a dynamic experience”, therefore we have complete control over the process and can make changes over our lifetime. The authors have observed certain traits shared by happy people, including gratitude, an optimistic world view and investment in overall wellness.
A lot of the advice has been around for a long time but what I like about this book is that it is quite specific. The book touches on ‘negative self-talk’ and a few more practical steps to changing thought patterns around some of the ideas would have been great. One of the things it discusses is use of the words ‘all, always and never’. When we speak or think in this way, the generalisations lead to unproductive decisions. Perhaps this event will be different. Not all people think or treat you in the same way.
‘The Happy Mind’ is an inspiring read. I like the fact that we are an unfinished work of art – our attitudes towards ourselves and others can continuously be tweaked, in the pursuit of happiness and using our brains to live an optimal life.
Book link: http://geni.us/happymindm
Website link: https://www.tckpublishing.com/
TCK Publishing Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tckpublishing/
Kevin Horsley’s official site: http://www.supermemory.co.za/
Kevin Horsley’s Twitter:
Disclaimer: This book was provided to me as an ARC. This in no way influences my opinion of the book. All reviews are my honest opinions.
It sounds interesting, but I really loathe self-help books. I’ve never read one I didn’t ultimately hate. I’m not even sure why.
Most of the ones I have read, are because my husband recommends them to me. I like to read them from a psychology point of view, and definitely with a good dose of cynical sweetener.