Now here’s a book on happiness I can take seriously. It’s written by a russian psych research professor who used to summer at chernobyl as a child. These are hard-earned lessons! That’s someone I can take seriously – not someone who was bummed out by being a clerk for the Supreme Court, decided to write, and boom, got published. Very interesting takeaways:
· Times when traumas happen can sometimes actually a happier period of your life, than daily annoyances. (This is in part because you surround yourself with a stronger network during rough times.)
· Take risks. Regret makes people unhappy, but they forget failures.
· Do big things, then little things. (There’s some anecdote about a professor asking students to film up a jar till it’s full. They add big rocks, gravel, then finally sand and he asks them what they think the lesson is. I’m not sure what the point is, but I’m taking it as eat dessert first. Thoughts? I do little things all the time — dishes, etc.)
· Build a reservoir of happy memories you can replay.
· Delay gratification with purchases. Small purchases make you happier than the mondo ones.
· Work on projects of personal relevannce and finish them (that actually motivates me to finish my dumb book.)
Where Dreams Really Do Come True