T. Ben-Shahar
New York: McGraw Hill, 2007,
Paperback (192 pp). ISBN: 978-0-07149239-3

Reviewed by Suzy Green

Happiness is a hot topic in the scientific field of psychology, and is one of the core constructs of the positive psychology movement. Parallelling this is a high level of interest from the general population in the notion of happiness. Each trip to the bookstore leads to the identification of two, three, four or more books that are aimed at teaching us how to be happy in life or at work. Unfortunately, much of this material currently falls within the realm of "pop psychology".

While there are an abundance of happiness books on the self-help shelves there are few stand-outs based on current scientific knowledge. In my opinion, these include Gilbert’s Stumbling on Happiness, Haidt’s Hapiness Hypothesis and as a general introductory text on positive psychology, one can’t go past Peterson’s Primer in Positive Psychology. All of these authors share strong academic standing and the ability to write for the everyday reader. The latest offering in this line is Happier by Tal Ben-Shahar. Ben-Shahar has gained recognition with significant media coverage of the most popular course at Harvard which Ben-Shahar developed and taught.

In Happier, Ben-Shahar has drawn upon the research used in his course to create a user-friendly book that is accessible to both students of positive psychology, and to a wider audience within the general population. This has been executed without any serious dumbing down of the empirical evidence base. The book provides both a general introduction to positive psychology and access to current research, at least up to the date of publication. Ben-Shahar has also taken a very personal approach to this book. The preface provides the reader with an introduction to how the author’s own personal journey has provided him with a foundation to understanding happiness and has led him to be well-known within the Positive Psychology movement. He provides many examples of how his own life experiences have helped him to understand what makes him happy.

Ben Shahar’s Happier is very well-written and gives a thorough overview of the key aspects of what research has uncovered on this slippery topic. For a psychologist or coach this text provides a very useful introduction and a broad overview on a topic that many clients pursue through therapy or coaching, that is wanting "to be happier".

Whilst there has been much debate and controversy over exactly what happiness is, Ben-Shahar has intelligently and succinctly outlined the nature of happiness from a scientific perspective utilising personal references to portray his messages. The author’s outlined objectives are clearly identified as wanting to "raise awareness of the general principles underlying a happy and fulfilling life". Ben-Shahar also encourages the reader early on in the text to take "time-in" to reflect personally on the material at a deeper level. He suggests the book be utilised as a workbook for it "to have a real impact on your life".

The book is divided into three sections. The first section provides a discussion of what happiness is and the essential components of a happy life. The second section focuses on practical applications aimed at increasing happiness and provides a lens to view happiness in education, in the workplace and in relationships. The third and final section provides "Meditations" with further exercises and more of Ben-Shahar’s personal reflections on the nature of happiness and its place in our lives.

Ben-Shahar’s description of happiness from a scientific perspective is thorough and creates a basis for understanding the role of meaning and purpose to happiness. He clearly explains how the pursuit of pleasure or purpose alone will not bring enduring happiness, rather it is the integration of both into our lives that is essential.

Ben-Shahar initially differentiates three archetypal figures when it comes to pursuing happiness: 1) the hedonist; 2) the rat racer; and 3) the nihilist. The hedonist’s primary aim is to seek pleasure and avoid pain, to live for the moment with little regard for the future. The rat racer suffers now for the purpose of an anticipated gain in the future. The nihilist is one who has lost the lust for life and neither enjoys the present moment nor has any hope for happiness in the future. Ben-Shahar posits that there is also the happiness archetype. This is someone who engages in activities that bring enjoyment in the present as well as the future. He emphasises that these archetypes are not mutually exclusive.

From the perspective of the coach, the chapter on goal setting is one that is rewarding reading. It provides a thorough outline of the research on goals, success and happiness. Ben-Shahar highlights r how goals are essential to a happy life. Sheldon & Elliot’s (1999) work on self-concordant goals is covered in detail and provides the reader with a clear understanding of the "want to" versus the "have to" of goal setting and goal pursuit, and suggests the reader have a larger ratio of the former rather than the latter for a happy life.

The second and third sections of the book provide plenty of practical examples of positive psychology in action with the aim of increasing happiness. Ben-Shahar provides snapshots of research findings and suggestions for bringing this research to life for the reader. There is something for everyone! The suggestions range from meditation and benevolence to savouring and slowing down the pace of life.

The chapter on happiness in the workplace is a very useful section for those coaches working in the corporate sector. For example, Ben-Shahar highlights a fascinating piece of research by Wrzesniewski and her colleagues (1997) on viewing work as 1) a job, with a focus on financial rewards, 2) a career, with a focus on professional advancement or 3) a calling, with a focus on enjoyment of fulfilling, socially useful work. The research details the consequences of holding each perspective for our well-being. A simple coaching technique that stems from this research is the idea that people may want to rewrite their "job description" as a "calling description" to increase meaning and purpose at work. The coverage of this and other research provides some simple coaching strategies to help people craft their work to create greater meaning, pleasure and overall happiness.

This book covers an enormous amount of ground on the theory and research of happiness and positive psychology. My only criticism is that while Ben-Shahar’s approach to this book provides a breadth of information to the reader, I was aware that there was a depth of accompanying knowledge that was omitted. However, the detailed references however allow the reader to explore further if they so desire. I would assume the decision to go for breadth over depth was due to a need to make this body of work accessible to a wide readership.

As a researcher and teacher of positive psychology, I was suitably impressed with the content of this text and would strongly encourage students of my own class to read it as a support to my own personal syllabus. I would similarly encourage this text to be utilised as a personal workbook as suggested. Whether we work as a psychologist or coach, it is through our own personal experiences and understandings of theory and intervention that we can convey a sense of confidence in offering interpretations and suggestions for strategies for our clients,.

My own personal suggestion is that one read this book once from cover to cover and then review the book a second time to identify the sections that contain the most relevant information to the reader. My hope is that this book and others like it will help readers to become sophisticated consumers of scientific research.

There is currently also a strong push for further development in applied positive psychology to combat the criticism that much of the positive psychology literature is written for an academic audience, and does not consider adequately the practical applications of findings. Happier does much to rectify this situation with simple strategies that can be applied in daily life. For example, the keeping of a gratitude journal on a weekly basis over the period of a month has been shown to significantly increase levels of happiness (Emmons & McCullough, 2004).

An important benefit of positive psychology is that it lacks the stigma that currently surrounds traditional psychology and psychiatry. Paradoxically, despite increases in material wealth in the western world, there is much discontent. Current rates of depression in the US are ten times higher today than they were in the 1960s.Overall, Ben-Shahar’s book exemplifies how the psychological scientific study of happiness has a significant contribution to make in helping the general population to flourish. This book provides a kick-start to flourishing and to help us all to be Happier in the long run. Happy reading!

References

Emmons, R.A. & McCullough, M.E. (2004). The Psychology of Gratitude. Oxford University Press.

Gilbert, D. (2007). Stumbling on Happiness. Vintage Press.

Haidt, J. (2006). The Happiness Hypothesis. Basic Books.

Peterson, C. (2006). A Primer in Positive Psychology. Oxford University Press.

Sheldon, K.M. & Elliot, A.J. (1999). Goal Striving, Need Satisfaction and Longitudinal Well-Being: The Self-Concordance Model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 482-497.

Wrzniewski, A. McCauley, C., Rozin, P. & Schwartz, B. (1997). Jobs, Careers and Callings: People’s Relations to Their Work. Journal of Research in Personality, 31, 21-33.