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289 of 390 found the following review helpful:
 Many reasons to read this book Dec 29, 2007
By Joe Tye
"CEO and Head Coach, Values Coach Inc."
When I first saw the title, "Happy for No Reason," I'll have to admit that my initial reaction was that this would be just one more new age, touch-feely, full-of-fluff feel-good book. So I was very pleasantly surprised to see how thoroughly-researched, well-written, and down-to-earth practical this book is. "Happy for No Reason" is a groundbreaking philosophy that belongs in the same category as the work of David Burns (cognitive mood therapy), Martin Seligman (learned optimism), Daniel Goleman (emotional intelligence) and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (flow). It is a brilliant blend of scientific research summarized in language that anyone can understand plus stories from people Marci calls the Happy 100, people who are role models of happiness for the sake of happiness, not because of love or money or other exogenous factors.
I was so impressed with this book that I gave copies to each of my children as Christmas gifts this year. I'm hoping they will read it with a pen or highlighter in hand, which is what I found myself doing - and would recommend to you as well. It's easy to be unhappy, which might be why so many people are. Watch TV for an hour and you'll have a hundred reasons to not be happy; it's nice to know that you can choose to be happy for no reason at all.
69 of 95 found the following review helpful:
Happy for No Reason Jun 15, 2009
By doglover22
The idea presented in Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out is to get the reader to become, well, "Happy for No Reason"- which the book defines as true happiness that isn't dependent on external circumstances. You can then take a questionnaire to see how close you are to being "Happy for No Reason." But if you're not quite there yet, how does the book intend to get you there? Well, by several ways:
-you'll learn three guiding principles that will help you get past the common blocks to happiness
-you'll learn how to apply the "Law of Attraction" to being happier
-you'll learn about a seven-step program to become "Happy for No Reason". Each step has three "Happiness Habits" with corresponding exercises.
-the author interviewed 100 happy people and shares 21 of their stories that define what it means to be "Happy for No Reason"- stories reminiscent of the "Chicken Soup" series.
As you can see, there's plenty of good stuff in this book which will give you great advice and things to think about to help you "reframe" your thinking. Readers might also be interested in The Prayer Project: How Each One of Us Can Make The World a Better Place to Live - In a Few Minutes a Day.
151 of 211 found the following review helpful:
I was surprised by the book... Jan 08, 2008
By Pete Bissonette
I thought it would be namby-pamby or filled with fluff until I read this paragraph in the introduction:
"My first major discovery was that scientists have found that we each have a `happiness set-point,' the genetic and learned tendency to remain at a certain level of happiness, similar to a thermostat setting on a furnace. Fortunately for those of us not born on the sunny side of the street, it's been shown that we can change our happiness set-points. I'll discuss this more in the next chapter and offer you specific exercises throughout the book to raise your happiness set-point."
As I read the book I was surprised at most every turn. I was delighted that she included Mark McKergow's Solution Focus Technique--a longtime favorite of mine that keeps you focused on what's working in your life instead of on what's not working.
...And that she actually tells how to do one of Chunyi Lin's Spring Forest Qigong techniques that energizes the body and literally brings you feelings of happiness and joy.
Part of her process in studying happiness was to interview 100 truly happy people. Another surprise was finding a link where I could actually listen to highlights of the interviews online.
So...I'd get the book.
69 of 96 found the following review helpful:
 Good, Yes...But Not the Best in Getting and Staying Happier Mar 07, 2009
By Word Lover
I have read more of the happiness literature than most people because of a work assignment. Granted, by the time I got to this one, much of the information was not new anymore. But when evaluating a book or manuscript, it's helpful to look at it as if it were the first of its type you have picked up.
Happy for No Reason is good, but there are better "happy" books out there. Good promotion is taking this one far. Better by a long shot are STUMBLING ON HAPPINESS (Daniel Gilbert), HAPPY AT LAST: THE THINKING PERSON'S GUIDE TO FINDING JOY (Richard O'Connor), and AUTHENTIC HAPPINESS (Martin Seligman).
10 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Not just for women - this is for EVERYONE! Feb 27, 2009
By Srikumar S. Rao
The title is terrific and underscores the theme of the book - you don't need to find a reason to be happy. This is contrary to the culture we are immersed in. One of my students - an MBA from a top school and an executive at a technology firm - wondered aloud why co-workers would frequently ask her, "You seem so happy today - what happened?" Why, she wondered, did something have to happen for one to be happy.
That is precisely the point Marci makes in her book - deep, lasting happiness, the joy that pervades and uplifts you DOES not require you to be, do or get anything. You can experience it right now and every day if you will let go of certain conditioning that you have been subjected to all your life. The two most powerful myths you probably believe in are 1) The myth of more which leads you to believe that the more you have the better you will feel, and 2) The myth of I'll-be-happy-when which assumes that happiness will magically appear when some external event transpires.
While the erroneous conditionings that keep you trapped are deep, you can shed them, The way you do this is by cultivating new habits that enable you to experience the world differently. As you do this, happiness reaches out and engulfs you. This does NOT mean that life is evermore a bed of roses. The thorns will be there in terms of sickness, financial reverses, relationship problems and adversity of various kinds. But even as you do what you must, you are keenly aware that you are fine and will always be so. There is a sense of well being that never leaves you.
These new habits - like gratitude, ignoring the negative thoughts that spring up, prayer, caring for your body, etc. - are described well and there are many practical exercises to help you make it a part of your life.
What makes this book outstanding is the clarity and simplicity of the language and the sincerity of the author. Marci's autobiographical anecdotes place her advice in context and make it so much more powerful.
The book is light-hearted even though the teachings are profound. The many cartoons are downright hilarious. I am still chuckling at the one where a fresh graduate proclaims that he is simply looking for proof that money does not bring happiness.
And there are snippets of information that are illuminating. Did you know, for instance, that in Thomas Jefferson's time "pursue" meant to practice something? Thus when he spoke about the "pursuit of happiness" he was not advocating chasing after it but simply experiencing it.
If you do even a fraction of the exercises in this book, your life will be immeasurably improved.Are You Ready to Succeed? Unconventional Strategies to Achieving Personal Mastery in Business and LifeThe Personal Mastery Program: Discovering Passion and Purpose in Your Life and Work (Sounds True Audio Learning Course)
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