(picture is largely a place holder if anything haha, doesn’t really contribute to this post)

So this book review is long overdue. I’ve been done the book for minute and even passed it along to somebody else to read. To what effect it has had on me, not quite sure. Going into this book, I sort of had my own framework for how you look at life and how to handle the difficulties that you come across. What I can say is that, often books of personal interest arguably present some things that you were probably familiar or aware of. But what they can do that you can’t is that they present it all in a very neat and concise manner so it helps further develop any thoughts or intutions you may have already had.

There were some points that I felt resonated quite strongly with me and that I’ve pretty much incorporated into my own way of thinking since finishing the book. Based on the title of the book, the points all relate back to how it creates a happier individual.

Education
I’ve always been a big advocate on this but perhaps even more so now. It’s food for the mind and that will never ever change. I still find so many facinating things every day that bring me excitement and as corny as it sounds, happiness. It’s an interesting feeling when you feel as though the most random of articles somehow finds its way into a conversation or helps bring to light a certain encounter.

Sustainability
It’s important to put weight in acts that bring you happiness that are SUSTAINABLE. Time to get my killjoy on, but sex, physical attraction, drugs, alcohol… all this shit falls under the guise of unsustainability. These are all temporary joys and it seems that if you want to be able to create a sustainable sense of well-being, cutting out your reliance on these things is probably something to consider. Yeh I throw sex and physical attraction in there, not to say I’m going on this real monk tip but hey yo, I can tell you right now that I can confidently say I ain’t going to get swept off my feet any time soon hahahaha (that necessitated an extra long “haha”). Or to the point where an attraction will change the way I behave or act. It seems cold, but at the same time I find a lot of legitimacy in this argument. Even from a sense of “independence”, it seems like a retarded notion to put the happiness in the hands of another person. Feeling good when you’re around somebody seems fine and dandy but feeling a little bit down when they’re not around doesn’t contribute to the grand scheme of things. I think something I took away from this was that happiness is largely intrinsic. You can bring happiness upon yourself if you consider carefully some of the things that make you happy. I’m sure this point will draw some harsh criticism, but even look at relationships now… “he likes me more than I like him”… that often doesn’t work out in the long term.

But on one hand, I do live a pretty contradictory lifestyle to this… I mean look at my job, it’s heavily reliant on product. I guess I do consume carefully and while I am not a model of this particular concept, I’m more than aware of it. The goal I guess isn’t so much to adopt the extreme, but take bits and pieces and apply it when need be… although not only in a method that is convenient.

Looking at Things From Different Angles
This one is a continual process that requires a lot of work and an open mind. I touched upon it in a recent article about filtering your experiences. But this book had a big impact on really highlighting this concept. If somebody treats you like shit, take into consideration their life and how potentially difficult it has been which results in their actions. Ok maybe in reality their current life is actually quite good at this present moment in time, but the fact of the matter is, their lack of happiness in the big picture is contributing to their miserable state of being. This trickles down into their acts toward humanity and should be considered. This is supposed to diffuse your initial anger towards the situation. One example is when the author Howard Cutler is in a foreign city and gets ripped off by a cab driver. But if you look beyond the act and take into consideration their life story of being a cab driver in India, a few bucks relative to their grind and difficult life seems inconsequential. There’s a crazy mention in the book where your enemy is your greatest asset because it allows you to really practice your patience… I would assume you’re on some next next level shit if you can practice that concept haha.

Don’t Worry About What You Can’t Control
I like this a lot… if you spend a lot of effort thinking and worrying about something, yet it has 0% effect on the outcome, why bother? Just let it go and for this you will be grateful. It goes back to the sustainability/independence issue a bit, worry about things within your control, not things that are beyond your influence. You have limited emotions and resources, so put it into things that matter.

Some things I disagree with or would like further development arose after finishing the book. This include the concept of keeling over. That is from a fundamental stand-point, to forgive and to practice compassion is quite difficult. Not to say you shouldn’t try to attain it as a goal. I’m sure even the Dalai Lama isn’t perfect… the process to trying to reach that goal is important. But the whole premise basically screams “be the bigger man”. Some of the approaches take a great amount of discipline (a defining characteristic of Buddhism it seems) and putting a lot of the thoughts and feelings of another above yourself when it comes to negative interactions. But the Dalai Lama does suggest that the world wouldn’t necessarily be a better place if we all practiced the same religion and that it pays to have diversity in thoughts and feelings.

Another thing is, at what point does one come into action and help somebody else. I always have this belief, there’s no point helping those who don’t want help. It just comes across as a fruitless action at times, but at the same time do we owe it to ourselves to spread the knowledge we’ve acquired over the years. Or maybe at least present to them a different focal point.

So there you have it… I would suggest grabbing this book and reading it. It’s an easy read, and there should be a grip of copies floating around both new and used. It’s on Amazon for under $20 USD.

And of course, I can’t thank Jasmine enough for the book… some real good shit.

-Eugene