Happy
brilliant and just crammed with wisdom and insight. It will genuinely make a difference to me and the way I think about myself.' Stephen Fry _ Everyone says they want to be happy. But that's much more easily said than done. What does being happy actually mean? And how do you even know when you feel it? In Happy Derren Brown explores changing concepts of happiness - from the surprisingly modern wisdom of the Stoics and Epicureans in classical times right up until today, when the self-help industry has attempted to claim happiness as its own. He shows how many of self-help's suggested routes to happiness and success - such as positive thinking, self-belief and setting goals - can be disastrous to follow and, indeed, actually cause anxiety. Happy aims to reclaim happiness and to enable us to appreciate the good things in life, in all their transient glory. By taking control of the stories we tell ourselves, by remembering that 'everything's fine' even when it might not feel that way, we can allow ourselves to flourish and to live more happily. _ What readers are saying: * 'Immensely positive and life-affirming' * 'This is the blue print to a good life' * 'Thought provoking and potentially life-changing.'
Stats for nerds
8recommend
11mentions
9people
2017–2026years
91% recommend9% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- I got interested a few years back thanks to Derren Brown's book "Happy" (recommended). I have found it helpful. I can't say I actually do any of the exercises, but it has slightly reframed how I think about my own wellbeing and happiness.
edit: I've missed all this new bite sized version stuff though precisely because I avoid bite size stuff like the plague. TikTok and the TikTokification of everything else can fuck right off. I'm looking at you, YouTube.
- Derren Brown's book "Happy: Why More or Less Everything Is Fine" (which is much better than the title might lead you to believe) does a very good job exploring the philosophy behind this.
The choices we make have meaningful and value in large part because we sacrifice a fraction of our finite time and attention in order to do them. But once you have infinite time, then the value of everything you do becomes zero.
- Happy by Derren Brown - not a self help book, more an introduction to classical Greek and Roman philosophy framed around stoicism and a dash of Epicureanism. While it does include mental exercises you can do to aid in a stoic sense of self, I've never found the need to do them, but have definitely become more stoic, and by extension happier, as a result of reading it.
- Ok:
1) Happy by Derren Brown - a stoic interpretation for the modern world (how to live, and die, happy)
2) The Daily Stoic - 366 pages of stoic philosophy for each day
3) how to control drinking / this naked mind- second book is a reinterpretation of the first, made the biggest impact on my life, helping me stop drinking
4) Atomic Habits - helped me appreciate it is a little nudge that makes the biggest long term difference
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* "Happy by Derren Brown" and "The Daily Stoic" (1 mention, authors not specified) * Summary: "Happy" provides a perspective on happiness using the principles of stoic philosophy, challenging modern conceptions of happiness. "The Daily Stoic" provides a year's worth of philosophical wisdom from ancient stoics, aimed at allowing people to better respond to life's challenges.
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- I've felt it from time to time. The books helped me: in the subject, I recommend "Happy" by Derren Brown and "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl. Anything related to stoicism can work as well.
Also, not sure if this counts - recently I've been having a feeling that I no more like programming. The reason: I have a different mindset than the vast majority of programmers I met. It feels like either I'm the only one who knows how to do it well, or I'm the only one who doesn't know that. This feeling I've not yet overcome. I will probably try to change the job OR look for a different project / team.
