I read the first edition of The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris a number of years ago and really liked it, so I was excited to read the new second edition. The book is based on acceptance commitment therapy (ACT), and the happiness trap refers to the reality that life is difficult, and if you …
I’m definitely not a fan of the whole toxic positivity business, and no, happiness is not a choice (or at least not always). But a while back I stumbled across the Action for Happiness website, and I like their style. I was looking through my journal and came across the 8 pillars of joy I’d …
Action for Happiness: More Than Just “Choose Happiness” Read More »
Along the lines of “choose happiness,” you may have seen the message “good vibes only,” or something along the lines of getting rid of negative people from your life. But where do people who aren’t well fit into this? To be clear, I’m not talking about people who are negative about you. If someone is …
“Happiness is a choice.” It’s a message that you probably come across fairly often. While it’s probably meant to be motivational and positive most of the time, if you start to poke at it a bit, it has some fundamental flaws. I believe that happiness is not a choice, at least not when something like …
The basic idea of positive psychology is a good one. Who doesn’t want to feel happier and the other positive emotions that go along with that? The essentials of positive psychology According to PositivePsychology.com, positive psychology focuses on the positive aspects of life, including: “Positive experiences (like happiness, joy, inspiration, and love)” “Positive states and …
How Well Does Positive Psychology Apply to Mental Illness? Read More »
The Happiness Diary: Practice Living Joyfully by Barbara A. Kipfer guides you through various self-reflection exercises and prompts to connect with the potential for happiness that already exists in your life. It’s designed to be used as a notebook and written in, and each page is beautifully illustrated. I’m always a tad wary of happiness-promoting …
We’ve all heard that money can’t buy happiness. But is there some sort of relationship between money and happiness? And if so, what does that look like, and can money facilitate happiness? Meeting basic needs Clearly, it takes money to meet our most basic needs like food and shelter. When those basic needs are on …
Here are some of my favourite TED Talks that relate to mental wellbeing. The Gift and Power of Emotional Courage (Susan David) I recently reviewed Susan David’s book Emotional Agility, and this talk covered similar subject matter. She points out how problematic it is to avoid emotions that are considered negative or illegitimate. She says …
The Book of Joy: Finding Happiness in a Changing World is the product of a week-long series of discussions between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The meetings were held at the Dalai Lama’s residence-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. Much of the book is presented as a dialogue between the Dalai Lama and …
