A Practical Approach to Life Satisfaction


Book Description

Grit—defined as persistence and passion despite obstacles—has received much attention, yet books on this theme often idolize achievements at the expense of mental health. For instance, by the time Ernest Hemingway earned the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, he had demonstrated true grit by enduring an injury of war, witnessing the Spanish Civil War, and writing fifteen groundbreaking volumes of literature. Yet by 1961, he had divorced three women and died by suicide. This book shifts the paradigm around grit away from accomplishments to a far more attainable and pleasing end: life satisfaction, which results in a deep, abiding, and overarching sense of contentment with life. A Practical Approach to Life Satisfaction argues that constantly striving to pursue accolades is more likely to drive individuals into the ground instead of leading them to fulfillment. However, when grit works together with emotional intelligence, it can yield marked improvements in life satisfaction. Written in an engaging style, this book is an essential resource for teachers, parents, and others who shape the next generation. It weaves academic content with personal narratives and reflective questions so you can hone the tool of grit with emotional intelligence to achieve life satisfaction.




A Practical Guide to Happiness


Book Description

Apply the wisdom of philosophers to become a happier person. What is happiness? What makes you happy?Is there more to life than happiness? Learn to cultivate your taste for pleasure, free yourself from the various disturbances of life, and overcome irrational expectations that cause distress. Go with the flow and rediscover the joy of existence. Filled with exercises, tips and case studies, this Practical Guide will enable you to see happiness in a new light, with the help of the world’s greatest minds




Quality of Life Therapy


Book Description

Note: Book no longer includes a CD-ROM, but the files are available online for download for both book and ebook purchasers at www.wiley.com/go/frisch "This book defines an approach to well-being and positive psychology, that is state-of-the-art, evidence-based, empirically validated, and an outstanding guide for anyone interested in learning about the practice of positive psychology or well-being." —Ed Diener, the world authority on happiness from the University of Illinois and President of the International Positive Psychology Association. Endorsed by Christopher Peterson of the University of Michigan and taught in Marty Seligman's Masters in Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) Program at the University of Pennsylvania, this book teaches a simple, step-by-step method for putting the fields of well-being and positive psychology into practice. It is a "one-stop shopping" manual with everything you need in one book and with one approach. This approach to greater happiness, meaning, and success is “evidence-based” and empirically validated. It has been successfully tested in three randomized controlled trials, including two NIH-grant funded trials conducted by James R. Rodrigue and his colleagues at Beth Israel and Harvard Medical Centers in Boston. Quality of Life Therapy also known as Quality of Life Therapy and Coaching or QOLTC is designed for use by therapists, coaches, organizational change-agents/consultants, and all professionals who work to improve peoples' well-being. Many laypersons and clients have found the book useful as well. This book explains the "Sweet 16" Recipe for Joy and Success, along with validated interventions for each: 1. Basic Needs or Wealths: Health, Money, Goals-and-Values/Spiritual Life, Self-Esteem 2. Relationships: Love, Friends, Relatives, and Children 3. Occupations-Avocations: Work and Retirement Pursuits, Play, Helping-Service, Learning, Creativity 4. Surroundings: Home, Neighborhood, Community




Happiness


Book Description

Utilizing sophisticated methodology and three decades of research by the world's leading expert on happiness, Happiness challenges the present thinking of the causes and consequences of happiness and redefines our modern notions of happiness. shares the results of three decades of research on our notions of happiness covers the most important advances in our understanding of happiness offers readers unparalleled access to the world's leading experts on happiness provides "real world" examples that will resonate with general readers as well as scholars Winner of the 2008 PSP Prose Award for Excellence in Psychology, Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division of the Association of American Publishers




Subjective Well-Being


Book Description

Subjective well-being refers to how people experience and evaluate their lives and specific domains and activities in their lives. This information has already proven valuable to researchers, who have produced insights about the emotional states and experiences of people belonging to different groups, engaged in different activities, at different points in the life course, and involved in different family and community structures. Research has also revealed relationships between people's self-reported, subjectively assessed states and their behavior and decisions. Research on subjective well-being has been ongoing for decades, providing new information about the human condition. During the past decade, interest in the topic among policy makers, national statistical offices, academic researchers, the media, and the public has increased markedly because of its potential for shedding light on the economic, social, and health conditions of populations and for informing policy decisions across these domains. Subjective Well-Being: Measuring Happiness, Suffering, and Other Dimensions of Experience explores the use of this measure in population surveys. This report reviews the current state of research and evaluates methods for the measurement. In this report, a range of potential experienced well-being data applications are cited, from cost-benefit studies of health care delivery to commuting and transportation planning, environmental valuation, and outdoor recreation resource monitoring, and even to assessment of end-of-life treatment options. Subjective Well-Being finds that, whether used to assess the consequence of people's situations and policies that might affect them or to explore determinants of outcomes, contextual and covariate data are needed alongside the subjective well-being measures. This report offers guidance about adopting subjective well-being measures in official government surveys to inform social and economic policies and considers whether research has advanced to a point which warrants the federal government collecting data that allow aspects of the population's subjective well-being to be tracked and associated with changing conditions.




The Happiness Project


Book Description

What if you could change your life--without changing your life? Gretchen had a good marriage, two healthy daughters, and work she loved--but one day, stuck on a city bus, she realized that time was flashing by, and she wasn’t thinking enough about the things that really mattered. “I should have a happiness project,” she decided. She spent the next year test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific studies, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Each month, she pursued a different set of resolutions: go to sleep earlier, quit nagging, forget about results, or take time to be silly. Bit by bit, she began to appreciate and amplify the happiness that already existed in her life. Written with humour and insight, Gretchen’s story will inspire you to start your own happiness project. Now in a beautiful, expanded edition, Gretchen offers a wealth of new material including happiness paradoxes and practical tips on many daily matters: being a more light-hearted parent, sticking to a fitness routine, getting your sweetheart to do chores without nagging, coping when you forget someone’s name and more.




A Practical Approach to Life Satisfaction: Powered by Emotional Knowledge and Grit


Book Description

Grit-defined as persistence and passion despite obstacles-has received much attention, yet books on this theme often idolize achievements at the expense of mental health. For instance, by the time Ernest Hemingway earned the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, he had demonstrated true grit by enduring an injury of war, witnessing the Spanish Civil War, and writing fifteen groundbreaking volumes of literature. Yet by 1961, he had divorced three women and died by suicide. This book shifts the paradigm around grit away from accomplishments to a far more attainable and pleasing end: life satisfaction, which results in a deep, abiding, and overarching sense of contentment with life. A Practical Approach to Life Satisfaction argues that constantly striving to pursue accolades is more likely to drive individuals into the ground instead of leading them to fulfillment. However, when grit works together with emotional intelligence, it can yield marked improvements in life satisfaction. Written in an engaging style, this book is an essential resource for teachers, parents, and other caregivers who shape the next generation. It weaves academic content with personal narratives and reflective questions so you can hone the tool of grit with emotional intelligence to achieve life satisfaction.




The Science of Subjective Well-Being


Book Description

This authoritative volume reviews the breadth of current scientific knowledge on subjective well-being (SWB): its definition, causes and consequences, measurement, and practical applications that may help people become happier. Leading experts explore the connections between SWB and a range of intrapersonal and interpersonal phenomena, including personality, health, relationship satisfaction, wealth, cognitive processes, emotion regulation, religion, family life, school and work experiences, and culture. Interventions and practices that enhance SWB are examined, with attention to both their benefits and limitations. The concluding chapter from Ed Diener dispels common myths in the field and presents a thoughtful agenda for future research.




Don't Let Death Ruin Your Life


Book Description

In her unique guide, Jill Brooke reveals how to cope with grief and turn this time of sadness into an opportunity for positive change and growth. Although they are no longer physically with us, we can keep our loved ones emotionally and spiritually close by incorporating their memories into our daily lives. As we draw comfort from their sustaining presence, we can have a positive impact on those around us. Recent research shows that the trauma of loss can stimulate creativity which leads to new pportunities for happiness and success. Katie Couric and Rosie O'Donnell are just a few people in this book who have coped with loss in unique and special ways. Including tips on how to preserve our memories, create lasting family histories, and reach out to others, Don't Let Death Ruin Your Life shows how the experience of grieving helps us to heal, learn, and grow. Filled with gentle guidance and practical advice, this indispensable handbook takes readers on a journey that will motivate, inspire, and transform their lives. "Should be on everyone's bookshelf . . . Charts a survival course with dignity and hope." (The New York Post)




A Philosophy for the Science of Well-Being


Book Description

Well-being, happiness and quality of life are now established objects of social and medical research. Does this science produce knowledge that is properly about well-being? What sort of well-being? The definition and measurement of these objects rest on assumptions that are partly normative, partly empirical and partly pragmatic, producing a great diversity of definitions depending on the project and the discipline. This book, written from the perspective of philosophy of science, formulates principles for the responsible production and interpretation of this diverse knowledge. Traditionally, philosophers' goal has been a single concept of well-being and a single theory about what it consists in. But for science this goal is both unlikely and unnecessary. Instead the promise and authority of the science depends on it focusing on the well-being of specific kinds of people in specific contexts. Skeptical arguments notwithstanding, this contextual well-being can be measured in a valid and credible way - but only if scientists broaden their methods to make room for normative considerations and address publicly and inclusively the value-based conflicts that inevitably arise when a measure of well-being is adopted. The science of well-being can be normative, empirical and objective all at once, provided that we line up values to science and science to values.