HotmailWhat's the secret to happiness? Your attitude
Stephen M. Pollan and Mark Levine try to answer the age-old question in their new book, ‘It's All in Your Head.’ Read an excerpt
 Harpercollins Publishers | |
In “It's All in Your Head: Thinking Your Way to Happiness,” Stephen M. Pollan and Mark Levine present simple truths that motivate people of any age to find and accept lasting happiness, illustrated with the stories of real people and illuminated with the observations of spiritual leaders and great philosophers. Pollan visited “Weekend Today” to discuss his book. Take our happiness quiz and then check out an excerpt:
Happiness quiz
1. Do you look to material things to bring you happiness?
2. Do you constantly compare your salary, clothes, car, house with others?
3. Do you dread the start of a new year or birthday?
4. Do you easily accept a compliment?
5. Do you delay dealing with something bad?
6. Do you try and think you can have it all?
7. Do you feel like your best days are behind you?
8. Do you base decisions on someone else's life or the life others think you should lead?
9. Do you feel paralyzed by fear?
10. Do you look for security, belonging and self-esteem from your job?
Answer yes to one or more of the questions above and you're in need of a happiness makeover.
Chapter One
It's All In Your Head
The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness.
— Eric Hoffer
Are there times you feel you're missing the one or two crucial ingredients you need to be happy? Maybe it's a new, better-paying job with a boss who treats you with more respect or one that gives you more of a chance to make a difference. It could be you're searching for the right person to marry or are struggling to drop those extra twenty pounds you feel are holding you back.
I'm going to let you in on a secret: You've already got everything you need to be happy.
You don't need to land a new job or change your career. You don't need to find a mate or lose weight. You don't need to buy a car or move to the country. Being happy requires no change in your personal, work, or financial life. You can find happiness without going to a gym, church, or bank. You don't need anyone else's help to feel fulfilled. There's no need to talk to a plastic surgeon, stockbroker, or career counselor to feel better about yourself and your life.
Right now, you have within you all you need to find fulfillment and lead a happy, satisfying life. It doesn't matter how old you are or how much you earn. It doesn't matter if you're married or single, gay or straight. It doesn't matter where you live or how you look. It doesn't matter if you've just finished a marathon or you've been diagnosed with cancer. Happiness is within your grasp.
That's because the secrets to happiness are all in your head. Usually the phrase “it's all in your head” is intended as a condescending comment: that whatever it is you're feeling isn't real, that it's a figment of your imagination. But I mean it literally. The keys to a fulfilled, joyous life are all in your head because they're attitudes, not actions. They're ways you need to think, not steps you need to take. True happiness comes not from material, or external, factors, but from psychological, or internal, factors. Happiness is a mental, not a physical, state.
The good news is this means each and every one one of us has the potential to be happy. The bad news is your happiness is your own responsibility. You're the only one who can make yourself happy. No one and nothing else can do it for you. Not even me or this book.
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