Happiness is not something you achieve once and for all. Happiness is a muscle, a skill, a way of being that can and must be exercised. If you neglect your happiness, unhappiness will re-absorb you. You'll have fatty tissue in the underarms of your joy.We are happy because of what we do and because of who we are becoming. Happiness is available to us, increasingly, as we shift from lives of passivity to activity; from thinking to doing; and from defending to iterating (what we do). We are happy not because we don't have to change, but because we can renew our minds, govern our mouths, guard our hearts, and use our legs (who we are becoming). And in all this, we are not restrained by history, association, birth, personality, or circumstance.The material in this book has been distilled from Dr. David McDonald's professional work as a clergyman, professor, and executive coach over the past 20 years, a veritable library of theological and psychological books, and his own personal application and development of the material.This is the story of how one person learned to be happy.

*** THIS VERSION HAS BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS INSIDE ***Adventures In Happiness is a true story of travel, change, and adventure. It is based on what happened when John, a thirty-seven-year-old corporate worker, quit his twenty-one-year career, and took a massive step into the unknown. It covers the highs, the lows, and everything in-between as he drove a campervan through Europe and Morocco, backpacked across South Africa, rode a motorbike around Sri Lanka, kitesurfed a lot, and settled for a while in the city of Cape Town. But it's not just a story of travel. It's also a story of change, and lessons learnt.They say happiness is a journey. Well they're not kidding, and this is his so far.

A remarkable guide to the quests that give our lives meaning—and how to find your own—from the New York Times bestselling author of The $100 Startup and 100 Side Hustles “If you like complacency and mediocrity, do not read this book. It’s dangerously inspiring.”—A. J. Jacobs, author of The Know-It-All When he set out to visit all of the planet’s countries by age thirty-five, compulsive goal-seeker Chris Guillebeau never imagined that his journey’s biggest revelation would be how many people like himself exist—each pursuing a challenging quest. These quests are as diverse as humanity itself, involving exploration, the pursuit of athletic or artistic excellence, or battling against injustice and poverty. Everywhere that Chris visited he found ordinary people working toward extraordinary goals, making daily down payments on their dreams. These “questers” included a suburban mom pursuing a wildly ambitious culinary project, a DJ producing the world’s largest symphony, a young widower completing the tasks his wife would never accomplish—and scores of others writing themselves into the record books. The more Chris spoke with these strivers, the more he began to appreciate the direct link between questing and long-term happiness, and he was compelled to complete a comprehensive study of the phenomenon. In The Happiness of Pursuit, he draws on interviews with hundreds of questers, revealing their secret motivations, their selection criteria, the role played by friends and family, their tricks for solving logistics, and the importance of documentation. Equally fascinating is Chris’s examination of questing’s other side. What happens after the summit is climbed, the painting hung, the endurance record broken, the at-risk community saved? A book that challenges each of us to take control—to make our lives be about something while at the same time remaining clear-eyed about the commitment—The Happiness of Pursuit will inspire readers of every age and aspiration. It’s a playbook for making your life count. “The Happiness of Pursuit is smart, honest, and dangerous. Why dangerous? Because it is as practical as it is inspiring. You won’t just be daydreaming about your quest—you’ll be packing for it!”—Brené Brown, Ph.D., LMSW, author of Daring Greatly

This compelling work created by Sarah Prout and Sean Patrick Simpson, shares 31 inspiring stories that actively demonstrate the art of manifesting vibrant health and happiness. Written by individuals from all walks of life and transcending all possible limitations, it shares wisdom, insight and teachings of how to achieve your greatest desires. Whether it illustrates the journey of 'dis-ease' to wellness or discovering the power of gratitude, language patterns and self-love - this book has been designed for you to find resonance within every chapter. Featuring authors from The Secret (Dr. Joe Vitale & Loral Langemeier), bestselling authors Dr. Marilyn Joyce and Andreas Moritz plus many more, these heart warming stories will act as guidance for your own journey. Through authentic examples of how to create a life that you love, this book will inspire you to turn your dreams into reality filled with health and happiness.

Jerome the Gnome takes young readers on whimsical adventures through his garden, celebrating discovery and sowing the imagination as he introduces topics such as science, environmental awareness, and agriculture. In How to Grow Happiness, Jerome and his fellow Garden of Wonder dwellers—including Oakie, his pet acorn; Nutilda, a hyperactive squirrel; and Warble, a fast-talking bird—learn what it takes to make a happiness seed blossom. Through patience, asking for help, and teamwork, Jerome and his friends take a little black seed left on a windowsill and find ways to help it grow. They soon find that as it flourishes, their own happiness does too. Jerome the Gnome teaches young readers and listeners how a garden grows, as well as how a community comes together to make the experience more rewarding—and fun!

What do we wish most for our children? Next to being healthy, we want them to be happy, of course! Fortunately, a wide array of scientific studies show that happiness is a learned behavior, a muscle we can help our children build and maintain. Drawing on what psychology, sociology, and neuroscience have proven about confidence, gratefulness, and optimism, and using her own chaotic and often hilarious real-world adventures as a mom to demonstrate do’s and don’ts in action, Christine Carter, Ph.D, executive director of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, boils the process down to 10 simple happiness-inducing steps. With great wit, wisdom, and compassion, Carter covers the day-to-day pressure points of parenting—how best to discipline, get kids to school and activities on time, and get dinner on the table—as well as the more elusive issues of helping children build healthy friendships and develop emotional intelligence. In these 10 key steps, she helps you interact confidently and consistently with your kids to foster the skills, habits, and mindsets that will set the stage for positive emotions now and into their adolescence and beyond. Inside you will discover • the best way avoid raising a brat—changing bad habits into good ones • tips on how to change your kids’ attitude into gratitude • the trap of trying to be perfect—and how to stay clear of its pitfalls • the right way to praise kids—and why too much of the wrong kind can be just as bad as not enough • the spirit of kindness—how to raise kind, compassionate, and loving children • strategies for inspiring kids to do boring (but necessary) tasks—and become more self-motivated in the process Complete with a series of “try this” tips, secrets, and strategies, Raising Happiness is a one-of-a-kind resource that will help you instill joy in your kids—and, in the process, become more joyful yourself.

From the creator of ARCHIE THE DAREDEVIL PENGUIN comes the unique story of two friends who can't escape all the feels. Camper is happy as a clam and Clam is a happy camper. When you live in The Happy Book, the world is full of daisies and sunshine and friendship cakes . . . until your best friend eats the whole cake and doesn't save you one bite. Moving from happiness to sadness and everything in between, Camper and Clam have a hard time finding their way back to happy. But maybe happy isn't the goal--being a good friend is about supporting each other and feeling all the feels together. At once funny and thoughtful, The Happy Book supports social-emotional learning. It's a book to keep young readers company no matter how they're feeling!