Book Review: Habits of Happiness by Wendy Ulrich
I received this book for free from Deseret Book in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Habits of Happiness
by Wendy UlrichPublished by Deseret Book on February 27, 2014
Genres: Adult, Non- Fiction
Pages: 64
Format: Hardcover
Source: Deseret Book
Buy the Book • Goodreads
What makes us happy? Psychologists have identified three key elements that contribute to an ongoing sense of well-being: pleasure, engagement, and meaning. so is it possible to live in a way that is likely to increase the level of happiness we experience on a daily basis? Popular author and Time Out for Women presenter Wendy Ulrich offers seven habits to enhance our lives and boost our happiness quotient. With practical ideas for implementing each habit of happiness, she challenges readers to pick one to work into your life and discover new ways to be happy every day.
This book completely changed my way of looking at things! It pretty much takes everything we’ve ever thought about finding happiness and flips it around so that a new perspective is possible. For many of us, we can find point zero (where we are surviving, but not thriving), but pushing past point zero to happiness is difficult. Wendy is a PHD Psychologist suggests “if you want to get happier, don’t try to get help with your problems. Don’t turn to therapy for answers..”
Wait, what?!! Here’s her answer “while turning to others to help us be happier is not a very successful approach, offering help to others is.” You just have to read to understand. Everything you’ve been clinging to will shift.
While short in pages, this little book is packed with new ideas and simple suggestions to challenge and lift. I will be re-reading it often and using the exercises in each chapter on my journey to creating habits of happiness. Want to know more about her quirky suggestions? Read on…
1. Stop worrying about your weaknesses.
2. Don’t even try to get motivated to exercise.
3. Stop hoping to find friends.
4. Don’t try to feel happier.
5. Celebrate failure.
6. Don’t try to get help with your problems.
7. Don’t endure to the end.
And now, go pick up the book 🙂
About the Author
Wendy Ulrich, Ph.D., M.B.A., was a psychologist in private practice in Ann Arbor, Michigan for almost fifteen years before moving with her husband to Montreal (where he presided over the Canada Montreal Mission), then Alpine, Utah. She founded Sixteen Stones Center for Growth, which offers seminar-retreats for LDS women (sixteenstones.net). She is a mother and grandmother, a columnist for Deseret News, a former president of the Association of Mormon Counselors and Psychotherapist, and a business consultant with The RBL Group. Her books include Forgiving Ourselves, Weakness Is Not Sin, and national best seller The Why of Work, co-authored with her husband, Dave Ulrich.