The Book of Happiness: Brilliant Ideas to Transform Your Life

Contents

About the Authors — v
Acknowledgements — vii

Introduction: What is happiness and how to develop the Happiness Habit — xiii

1. The Happiness Questionnaire — 1
2. The Stairway of Happiness — 11
3. Surroundings — 27
   Creating an environment that will increase your happiness
   • What we mean by Surroundings
   • How your Surroundings affect your happiness
   • Brilliant Ideas for improving your Surroundings and growing the Happiness Habit
   • Workbook – practical actions you can take to increase the amount of happiness in your Surroundings. Take the Happiness Challenge!
4. Behaviour — 57
   Changing what you do to create the Happiness Habit
   • What we mean by Behaviour
   • How your Behaviour affects your happiness
   • Brilliant Ideas for improving your Behaviour and growing the Happiness Habit
   • Workbook – practical actions to increase the amount of happiness that results from the things you do. Take the Happiness Challenge.
5. Skills and Capabilities — 87
   Making the most of your talents and using them to develop new happiness skills
   • What we mean by Skills and Capabilities
   • How your Skills and Capabilities affect your happiness
   • Brilliant Ideas for improving your Skills and Capabilities to grow the Happiness Habit
   • Workbook – practical actions you can take to make the most of your Skills and Competencies and therefore increase your happiness. Take the Happiness Challenge!
6. Values and Beliefs — 113
   Being true to what you value and believe so that it adds to the happiness in your life
   • What we mean by Values and Beliefs
   • How Values and Beliefs affect your happiness
   • Brilliant Ideas for living your life according to your true Values and Beliefs – and therefore increasing your happiness
   • Workbook – practical actions you can take to make the most of the Values and Beliefs that work for you and which will result in happiness. Take the Happiness Challenge!
7. Identity – Be Yourself — 139
   Being yourself – seeing yourself for who you are and using this knowledge to get the happiness you truly deserve
   • What we mean by Identity
   • How your Identity affects your happiness
   • Brilliant Ideas for getting to know who you are and to be happy within yourself
   • Workbook – practical actions you can take to increase the amount of happiness resulting from being true to yourself. Take the Happiness Challenge!
8. Purpose — 165
   Being more than yourself – finding the path to the Purpose and meaning in your life
   • What we mean by Purpose
   • How your Purpose affects your happiness
   • Brilliant Ideas for finding your Purpose in life and feeling happy about why you are here
   • Workbook – practical actions you can take to set a course for happiness in your life. Take the Happiness Challenge!

Appendix 1: Happiness and Work – Questionnaire — 189
Appendix 2: Lancaster University Research Findings — 195
Index — 199