Book Review: Authentic Happiness: Using The New Positive Psychology To Realize Your Potential For Lasting Fulfillment

This book review is part of a series that covers the topic of Happiness and Self Improvement. The Official SelfGrowth.com Guide to Happiness and Self Improvement is Hale Dwoskin. Self improvement is the enrichment of one’s mind, character, and attitude through one’s own efforts and positive thinking. This positive affirmation will lead to a life of happiness and fulfillment.nnAuthentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment is a valuable resource for people interested in Happiness and Self Improvement, and it is available through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.nnThe Barnes & Noble ReviewnHappiness isn't just a gift; it's a skill that can be learned and cultivated. According to psychology professor Dr. Martin Seligman, everyone has the power to infuse real joy into his or her life. To teach ourselves happiness, he recommends that we identify and develop our personal "signature strengths." By incorporating these attributes into the crucial arenas of our lives, we can enhance our lives and experience real fulfillment. This is an orthodox but sensible life-changing lesson.nnFrom Publishers WeeklynIn his latest user-friendly road map for human emotion, the author of the bestselling Learned Optimism proposes ratcheting the field of psychology to a new level. "Relieving the states that make life miserable... has made building the states that make life worth living less of a priority. The time has finally arrived for a science that seeks to understand positive emotion, build strength and virtue, and provide guideposts for finding what Aristotle called the `good life,' " writes Seligman. Thankfully, his lengthy homage to happiness may actually live up to the ambitious promise of its subtitle. Seligman doesn't just preach the merits of happiness e.g., happy people are healthier, more productive and contentedly married than their unhappy counterparts but he also presents brief tests and even an interactive Web site (the launch date is set for mid-August) to help readers increase the happiness quotient in their own lives. Trying to fix weaknesses won't help, he says; rather, incorporating strengths such as humor, originality and generosity into everyday interactions with people is a better way to achieve happiness. Skeptics will wonder whether it's possible to learn happiness from a book. Their point may be valid, but Seligman certainly provides the attitude adjustment and practical tools (including self-tests and exercises) for charting the course. nCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.