Happiness

I recently listened to an audio book, Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert. As the cover asks, "Think you know what makes you happy? This absolutely fantastic book will shatter your most deeply held convictions about how the mind works."

That it did. However, the author, as he admits, doesn't give any definitive answers about how to be happy, but rather explores how inaccurate most people are when they try to predict what will make them happy or how happy they will become if certain things occur in their lives. The arguments and examples are compelling but, as always, I was looking for easy answers. Sorry, Sparky.

The good news is that Gilbert, while conveying a bunch of good information, writes in a laugh-out-loud style that made listening to his work completely enjoyable along with compelling. I think it's worth a second listen.

Author, Daniel Gilbert, is also a speaker on TED.com if you want a taste of his style before you commit to his book.