Jonathan Haidt: The Happiness Hypothesis

The Happiness Hypothesis, Putting Ancient Wisdom and Philosophy to the Test of Modern Science

Jonathan Haidt

I picked this up at the Big Bad Wolf Warehouse Book sale. Wasn't sure if I bought a good book, but it was RM 8 and I generally like to study science writings on topic of happiness so I didn't think twice before I bought it.

Turned out this is one of the best stuff I've ever read. I have read The Science of Happiness (Stefan Klein) that examines how our brain can make us happy and what can we do to derive it.

Jonathan's study of ten great ancient ideas narrate in detail how we can extract it and use it in our modern day lives. He questions and applies each of these ideas with scientific researches to provide well-rounded suggestions.

The book and its content so rich and enlightening that I keep the book with me in my handbook everyday, reading too slowly (I just reached page 97 after having this book for over a month) and carefully. I underline all the ideas with a pencil that mean something to me or require coming back to.

Ever since I started studying writings & studies on the Science of happiness, I feel that I have a lot more control over my emotions, and of course, my happiness. Though these books are far from trying to be a self-help title (they are not self-help, they are reports of studies & researches and experiments), I find that they are absolutely better solutions than self-help books, for me.

For me, deep understanding of how our brains & our emotions work, is half the battle won in having control over your own happiness & emotion well-being. And I think, being emotionally healthy is also the first step to many successes, depending on your own definition of success.

Maybe it sounds too easy? Risking of sounding like a snob (I probably am one), I find that people these days look to fancy alternatives to hunt for happiness. Some of my friends get their kicks at spiritual readings and visiting soul-healing gurus, readers of their past lives...am sure this sound familiar for some of you. "Oh my animal spirit is a tiger." "Oh they told me mine is a dragon." "Yes ah? I was told my past lives I had been a monk, a singer, a robber and a cabaret singer."

...ya, and these information are suppose to help you seek out your future happiness. I was told, ya man, you gotta know your past to plan your future, right or not?!

I rather get better at time management so that what I invest in the present moment will benefit my future.

Anyway, I have digressed :) I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the topic of human behaviour, how we live and what happiness is (although we should first derive at our own definition first).