The World's Best Book Summaries
Where are you headed in life? What are you striving toward? Do you believe that your life has value and meaning? In The How of Happiness, Sonja Lyubomirsky unpacks the factors that fuel happiness and provides practical strategies to nurture and sustain it. One way is to find and create purpose in your life. Keep reading to see how having a purpose in life can bring you lasting happiness.
What are the benefits of intrinsic motivation? How do intrinsic rewards keep you motivated? The benefits of intrinsic motivation include being able to develop virtuous cycles of improvement and practice. This means that if you enjoy practicing, you’ll get better, which means you’ll continue to enjoy practicing and stick to it. Read on to learn how to develop better patterns of improvement.
How long does it take to become good at something? How much practice does it take? It takes about ten years of intentional practice to become excellent at something, but you can become better at something right away. In fact, any amount of practice is beneficial. Read for more on why practice can have such an immediate impact and how long you need to stick with something to become great.
How can you develop your weaknesses into strengths? What does it take to strengthen your skills? Improving weaknesses and developing strengths requires not only seeing where you’re doing well but also being able to self-criticize and find weak points that you can develop into strengths. You can do this with a simple four-step process. Learn how to walk through this process and get better at anything.
What is the hedonic treadmill? How can you get out of the cycle of constantly chasing after more? The hedonic treadmill is a behavioral pattern where people chase after happiness but never feel content or satisfied once they get what they want. To get off the treadmill, you have to slow down and practice gratitude and appreciation for the simple things in life. Take a look at how to approach your own negative patterns.
What’s the best way to deal with fear of taking action? How can you overcome your anxieties? Dealing with the fear of taking action starts with acknowledging the problem and deciding to address it directly. The best way to do this is to set a goal of facing your fear in a small, insignificant way to build confidence. Here’s more on developing courage and confidence.
Do you find it easy to start a new habit but nearly impossible to stick with it? What do you need to change about your approach to instill real change in your life? It’s one thing to adopt a new habit. It’s another to make that habit stick and become part of your life. The key is to get your subconscious mind—not just your conscious mind—to want to adopt the new habit. Keep reading to learn how to create habits that stick by aligning your subconscious with your new behaviors.
How do you view death? How can your belief about death motivate you to live your life well? What you believe about death affects the way you live your life, for good or for bad. Life Worth Living discusses what a few philosophers and religious traditions say about death and how these beliefs put life into perspective in various ways. Read more to learn how different views of death might give you motivation for living life well.
Do you have trouble getting started with new life habits? Do you lose momentum and fail to make the changes stick? Life Worth Living discusses the importance of creating your own philosophy of life. When you glean a new piece of your life philosophy, it’s important to translate your newfound values into action. This might require making changes to your life or even to yourself, which can be an intimidating prospect. Continue reading to learn how to make changes in your life, drawing on insights from economists, literary greats, and religious traditions.
Do you know how to set priorities? What basic human needs should every person fulfill for a satisfying life? Whether you’re running a business or simply navigating life, you might face a roadblock when every task appears to be important. Setting priorities can fix this because it ranks tasks by value, which helps you make progress day by day. Continue reading to learn how to set priorities in business and life.