The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People

What Scientists Have Learned and How You Can Use It

David Niven, PhD

• Publisher: HarperOne
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN: 9780061157912
• eBook ISBN: 9780061739286
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Personal Success

Scientists and academics have spent entire careers investigating what makes people happy. But hidden in obscure scholarly journals and reports, their research is all too often inaccessible to ordinary people. Now the bestselling author of the 100 Simple Secrets series distills the scientific findings of over a thousand of the most important studies on happiness into easy-to-digest nuggets of advice. Each of the hundred practices is illustrated with a clear example and illuminated by a straightforward explanation of the science behind it to show you how to transform a ho-hum existence into a full and happy life.

• Believe in yourself: Across all ages, and all groups, a solid belief in one's own abilities increases life satisfaction by about 40 percent, and makes us happier both in our home lives and in our work lives.
• Turn off your TV: Watching too much TV can triple our hunger for more possessions, while reducing our personal contentment by about 5 percent for every hour a day we watch.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• A Note to Readers
• Introduction: All I Can Do Is Point and Hope You Look
• 1: Your life has purpose and meaning.
• 2: Use a strategy for happiness.
• 3: You don’t have to win every time.
• 4: Your goals should be aligned with one another.
• 5: Choose your comparisons wisely.
• 6: Cultivate friendships.
• 7: Turn off the TV.
• 8: Accept yourself—unconditionally.
• 9: Remember where you came from.
• 10: Limit yourself to thinking about one subject as you lie down to sleep.
• 11: Friendship beats money.
• 12: Have realistic expectations.
• 13: Be open to new ideas.
• 14: Share with others how important they are to you.
• 15: If you’re not sure, guess positively.
• 16: Believe in yourself.
• 17: Don’t believe in yourself too much.
• 18: Don’t face your problems alone.
• 19: Age is not to be feared.
• 20: Develop a household routine.
• 21: Don’t be overprotective.
• 22: Pay attention.You may have what you want.
• 23: Don’t let your religious beliefs fade.
• 24: Do what you say you are going to do.
• 25: Don’t be aggressive with your friends and family.
• 26: Root for the home team.
• 27: Don’t confuse stuff with success.
• 28: Every relationship is different.
• 29: Don’t think “what if.”
• 30: Volunteer.
• 31: If you can’t reach your goals,your goals will hurt you.
• 32: Exercise.
• 33: Little things have big meanings.
• 34: It’s not what happened, it’s how you think about what happened.
• 35: Develop some common interests with loved ones.
• 36: Laugh
• 37: Don’t let your entire life hinge on one element.
• 38: Share of yourself
• 39: Busy is better than bored
• 40: Satisfaction is relative
• 41: Learn to use a computer.
• 42: Try to think less about the people and things that bother you.
• 43: Keep your family close.
• 44: Eat some fruit every day.
• 45: Enjoy what you have.
• 46: Think in concrete terms.
• 47: Be socially supportive.
• 48: Don’t blame yourself.
• 49: Be a peacemaker.
• 50: Cherish animals.
• 51: Make your work a calling.
• 52: Never trade your morals for your goals.
• 53: Don’t pretend to ignore things your loved ones do that bother you.
• 54: Get a good night’s sleep.
• 55: Buy what you like.
• 56: Accomplish something every day.
• 57: Be flexible.
• 58: Events are temporary.
• 59: Be your own fan.
• 60: Join a group.
• 61: Be positive.
• 62: There will be an end,but you can be prepared.
• 63: How we see the world is more importantthan how the world is.
• 64: Keep a pen and paper handy.
• 65: Help the next personwho needs some minor assistance.
• 66: Take care not to harshly criticizefamily and friends.
• 67: Some people like the big picture, and others like the details.
• 68: Do things you are good at.
• 69: Go visit your neighbor.
• 70: Smile.
• 71: Don’t accept television’s picture of the world.
• 72: You always have a choice.
• 73: Be agreeable.
• 74: Don’t ignore one part of your life.
• 75: Listen to music.
• 76: Let your goals guide you.
• 77: Use your job positively.
• 78: Don’t forget to have fun.
• 79: Believe in ultimate justice.
• 80: Reminisce.
• 81: Be conscientious.
• 82: Don’t dwell on unwinnable conflicts.
• 83: Enjoy the ordinary.
• 84: Focus not on the world’s tragedies, but on the world’s hope.
• 85: Get a hobby.
• 86: Envying other people’s relationships is pointless.
• 87: Give yourself time to adapt to change.
• 88: Focus on what really matters to you.
• 89: Realize that complete satisfaction does not exist.
• 90: Surround yourself with pleasant aromas.
• 91: Don’t let others set your goals.
• 92: You are a person, not a stereotype.
• 93: Know what makes you happy and sad.
• 94: Keep reading.
• 95: We must feel needed.
• 96: Say “so what.”
• 97: Have a purpose.
• 98: You have not finished the best part of your life.
• 99: Money does not buy happiness.
• 100: What does it all mean? You decide.
• Sources
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• credit
• Copyright
• About the Publisher