Happiness: A Way of Life
A Complete Guide to Attend to your Own Happiness!
Happiness is neither an emotion nor a serving of dopamine; happiness is a state of being. All human beings share the desire to be happy. The road to happiness lies in acting with awareness and caring. It is a book that, based on some deep research, talks about how happiness relates to almost every aspect of life – A book of profundity and scope that allows each of us to train our minds to cultivate happiness. Learnt in over twenty years of extensive study on the subject from the ultra-occidental to ultra-oriental and most scientific to most religious.
This book carries enough information for an individual to:
- Fill his or her life with deep and enriching happiness
- Engineer or control the experience of any situation in life with least impact on his/her happiness
- Create a life in which happiness plays the central role, a life worth living
- Enhance the quality of our attention, judgment, and creativity to infuse happiness in every dimension of our life
A wondrous amalgam of wisdom from the East and evidence from the West. There is no better book on happiness.
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Happiness hinges on our ability to command what goes on in our consciousness from moment to moment.;
ISBN 13 (Paperback): 978-1532059964
ISBN 13 (Hard Cover): 978-1532059940
ASIN (Kindle Edition): B07KBZM7J5
REVIEWS
AMAZON.COM REVIEWS
Clark Wells
For a country which has “happiness” as a principle in its founding document, we Americans seem pretty clueless about obtaining it. A quick counting on Amazon shows there are scores of books purporting to show you how to be happy, the meaning of being happy and even the “trap” of happiness. Asif Zaidi’s book is in good company.
His prose is intelligent and flows very well, allowing a reader to follow his reasoning easily. The problem with what might be called “wisdom literature,” is that if eventually gets down to imperatives. “You would do well to do thus and so.” These aphorisms, while true, are usually recalled immediately after you have done, and reaped the punishment for, what was warned against. What is needed is some underpinning of rationality so as to imprint the aphorisms well within our readily accessed memory.
Happiness: a Way of Life goes far to do this. Bringing into the discussion much of what has been shown not to work, he also shows what does, liberating the self to immersive experiences where the journey of life is joyful, whatever the experiences. This should not be understood as a handbook of zen-isms, although they are well represented, but an attempt at a rational approach to happiness, rather than an abandonment of desires to reach contentment.
My one conundrum is the author dismisses all religion on the basis of popularity, (they “no longer appeal in a scientific world”) despite science ignoring the implications of the Big Bang and its continuing failure to argue a Creator out of the artifact which is creation. Later, however, while maintaining all religion as a post hoc coping mechanism, Zaidi nevertheless recommends that while belief in God is a “mere superstition,” dismissing thousands of years of “human experience” may lead to despair.
Regardless, the book is filled with interesting and telling anecdotes and were this all to recommend it would be well worth the time spent with this work.
Janelle Fila
Happiness: A Way of Life: A Complete Guide to Be Happy In Any Situation is a book that I hope a lot of people are encouraged to pick up and read. I loved a lot of what Asif Zaidi had to say about happiness being a state of being and not a fleeting emotion. It is something that I am striving toward and it was powerful to know that other people are trying to become happy, too! I love the research that went into this book and the number of references that Zaidi used to show that external factors cannot make us happy. I preferred his personal stories to some of the retold stories of others. I wish he would have talked more about himself, but I understand if he wanted this book to be seen as an educational resource and more than just a story about himself.
If nothing else, it is worth the money just to read the 22 pointers in Zaidi’s Afterword. I found this list comprehensive and a very nice recap of what Zaidi had already laid out in his chapters. I plan to use this as a resource, flipping back to it whenever I need a quick reminder of how to find happiness in the present moment, in slow breaths, in the investment of my attention. I hope this book inspires a culture of happy, healthy people and that those people spread the attitude across all ends of the globe. Like Zaidi wisely states, “happiness is the journey, not a stop or a destination.” I hope to see a lot of you on that journey with us!
Jennifer Johnson
It has been a while since I’ve read a book on happiness. I find most books lacking because they have simplistic advice, but not this author. He goes in depth on how to achieve long lasting happiness. As the author points out, one can sometimes confuse happiness with “transitory emotions” such as a few minutes of excitement at a party. But those feelings pass whereas happiness is lasting. Also, it is sometimes hard to forget in this day and age with media and advertising that happiness doesn’t come externally from things—the newest iPhone, or most expensive care; true happiness is internal.
Again, we get transitory emotions from these services or things but not lasting happiness.
Mr. Zaidi believes that living in the moment is one factor to being happy. Personally, I frequently am doing one thing while thinking about ten other things that needs to be done by tomorrow. By using breathing exercises, or simply focusing on breathing in and out, you can stay in the moment. As a former counselor, I know breathing exercise are often recommend for anxiety and panic to help one focus on the present. Mr. Zaidi states you can either live this moment to fullest “now or not at all.” Another great piece of advice: manage your ego. In the days of bigger is better everything, it would be easy to let things control you or always seek to latest and greatest toy.
Overall a wonderful, thought provoking book to help find lasting happiness.
Alexis V. Strang
This book was a very comprehensive look at happiness, and how you must *actively* make being happy a way of your life, and not just hope that happiness will come along. This author subscribes to the idea that we are born to be happy, and discusses how culture may place limitations on us by defining proper attitudes and behaviors that may be considered (un)appreciated or (un)acceptable. They use examples from famous political figures (Churchill), poets (Emerson), anthropologists (Durkheim), and even from the lives of famous people (Katy Perry). The author touches on ideas such as perception of self and others, how gratitude can transform your perspective and your goals and give you a small sense of happiness everyday, how nature has powers to make one feel happier and calmer in relation to one’s counterpart which may not interact at all with nature, and how practicing forgiveness can and should make sense to people because it makes one more happy, healthy, and empathetic. Overall, I felt really encouraged by the end of the book to be more proactive in my happiness. Being happy is a constant decision to be mindful of what you are grateful for, to value and recognize the humanity of your neighbors, friends, and even people you may be indifferent to, and to practice living what you love and what makes you feel as if you can grow and prosper — and be happy. While I read the book rather quickly, I would definitely suggest this book as a slow read. Something you absorb hapter by chapter over a few weeks time, and try to digest and apply what you are learning about happiness. I think I will read it again to get the full effect.
A Childers
I give Happiness: A Way of Life 4 stars. This book literally covers happiness in every realm of life and walks you through what false ideas, thoughts or cultural norms could be preventing you from finding happiness in each area of your life. Unlike a self help book with long list of do’s and don’ts, the author draws on his vast knowledge of various cultures, religions, and societies to give examples of the benefits and weakness of each and offers suggestions on how you might implement such changes in your own life. He goes to great lengths detailing scientific studies backing the research he includes. He has left no stone unturned as an excuse waiting for you to use to remain unhappy. I have pages and pages of highlighted sections that I plan to go back over because the information contained in this book is too vast to be fully appreciated in one sitting. I will definitely be rereading this book, again and again and encouraging everyone I know to read it as well. It really is a whole new outlook on what it means to be happy and how to attain it. I would have given this book 5 stars but the first 6 chapters get a little muddled with wise sayings and intellectual discourse supporting the author’s premise that happiness is not just a choice but purposeful placement of our attention.The author has extensive widespread knowledge and experience across multicultural and diverse educational settings concerning the topics of not just happiness but psychology in general. It would have been just as effective had he consolidated the first few chapters and made more clear and concise thesis statement. Once you get to chapter 7 though, all that changes and it becomes a invigorating read that challenges you to change the way you think and act about your own happiness.
Brandon Anselmo
The self-help style book by Asif Zaidi titled “Happiness A Way of Life” can be a lot to chew at first glance. A four thousand page collective of statistics and proverbs sprinkled with small stories and quotes that permeate an upbeat aesthetic. That said, it is quite the pleasing archive of advice and excerpts that can’t help but somehow rub off into your day to day as you ingest it for yourself. If you are into inspirational and or motivational epithets this is indefinitely the book for you. While a lot of the content can come off as condescending or as if it is running in circles around the same concept; it is best to keep in mind the collaborative nature of the text as well as the introspective take the “narrator” uses to relate his outlook on the subject. The author goes about scaffolding theory and slowly but surely transitions you from a basis for day to day introspection into a deeply metaphysical level of classical enlightenment. There is a plethora of material and a relative bit of it could come off scathing to some. Sometimes even going so far as to come off altogether antithetical to the subject matter. It’s hard to write our four thousand page anything on a metaphysical topic of such a subjective matter as this without coming off a long-winded though I guess. All in all a decent read. One maybe best done at leisure over a come and go basis with an open mind nonetheless.
Emily S.
This book is extremely informative! Asif Zaidi has a very well-rounded knowledge on happiness as a state-of-being. I expected this book to be about chasing happiness (the emotion) and how to have a hippie mindset. I was completely wrong! This book isn’t one person’s opinion. It’s a comprehensive compilation of information. This is not a “how-to” book, but through a broader understanding, one can use this knowledge to be in happiness. The author explains in great detail how the mind and body work to have happiness from different angles. One section was on religion, which I thought would be controversial or way off-base. It was, again, very informative and non-biased. Anyone can learn something new from this book and use it.
Octavia Paige
I thoroughly enjoyed this text, as it supports a ton of things I myself theorize and contemplate. I had no idea so much research and study had been put into the “science of happiness”. I have been able to learn a great deal of names of philosophical minds who put effort into said research. Leary, Seligman, Csikszentmihalyi’s, to name a few. I spent several moments attempting to pronounce that last one. Even tried google. No luck. But thanks to Zaidi, I can hold onto some of his teachings and do my own digging. The idea that you can train yourself to be happy, to continuously be in control of your own happiness has been a “side” focus of mine since I heard Will Smith’s perception of happiness in his own marriage. This book reminded me a great deal of what he had to say about being able to make yourself happy and aided in expanding my own thoughts. Some of the wording was a bit pretentious and tedious. I felt an attempt to lengthen the book was made by restating concepts often in different words. It was still a great read and a text I’m likely to revisit and pull from. The stories of success that were included are great reference points. Once you accept that life has no manuscript, it becomes easier to use works like this as a tool to outlining your own. You can learn a great deal from a book and I’ve learned from Zaidi’s writing that age holds no boundary to pursue happiness.
Heather B
“Happiness: A Way of Life” is definitely one of the best books I’ve ever read. The author did a perfect job of undertaking such a widely-varied topic and relaying it in an easy to understand manner that’s very simply and interesting. Though this is more classified as a how-to book, Zaidi relayed his message in a way that didn’t have me feeling as if I was in a boring lecture. This book uncovered some valuable information I never knew and really gave me a new outlook on life.
I loved the way the author gave a thorough definition of happiness and reviewed over the different aspects of this topic. I also enjoyed the way he linked his ideas and validified his content by connecting it to historical figures and famous quotes. With this book I was challenged to examine how I view myself and made me realize how my happiness is controlled only by me in the way I view the situations that arise.
This book has so much depth embedded in its content that I’m certain readers will not be disappointed by it. The author did a fantastic job of trying to relate to a vast audience by combining input from different cultures and religions so as to unite all to where no one will feel left out or offended upon reading this book.
Ryan H
It was an easy decision to give this book a 5-star rating. The extensive level of evidence and real-world experience that Zaidi uses to synthesize his advice on happiness is unprecedented. Zaidi, having studied happiness for more than twenty years, lays out his formula for finding true happiness. Without giving too much away, he believes it lies in the power of your own mind being able to control your thoughts and your consciousness.
I believe the most powerful claim that Zaidi makes is that the formula to happiness is not the same for everyone, and instead it is unique to each individual. He doesn’t tell you how you can be happy; rather he provides a platform that allows you to find out what best makes you happy. This platform is backed by science, religion, and philosophical wisdom, just to name a few. One thing that I really liked about Zaidi’s writing style is that he often uses examples to explain his ideologies and even talks about popular figures and how they have found happiness.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is seeking happiness, or even just trying to increase his or her happiness. I will say, however, that it will not be easy to see results from this book. It will take significant effort, with perhaps a few re-reads, in order to see real results from Zaidi’s advice. Happiness is not something that can be realized overnight, especially when coming from a dark place, so this is to be expected.
I strongly believe this book is worth the money, as well as the time and effort that it takes to read!
Chouariho
The book contains everything you need to know about happiness, what influences it and what you can do about it. The section on the ego alone is more than enough to turn around the life of anyone to the best. Whether you like the big picture or you prefer diving in the details, whether you are a theorist or a pragmatist, this book will satisfy you far beyond whatever your expectations might be. Kudos Asif. I wish I had such a book in hands years ago. I’m happy you’ve closed the gap and the need.
Leslie Obrien
Is being happy an art, emotion, or a state of being? If you were to ask Asif Zaidi, he’d tell you that “True happiness is fulfillment, peace, freedom from negativity, joy of being, and life in its richness.” But how do we get there? Is it a quest? Achievement? How much work do we have to put into it? Why isn’t it easy?
In “Happiness A Way of Life: A Complete Guide to be Happy in Any Situation”, Asif Zaidi takes us through what it takes to find happiness in different situations and I’ll hit you with a spoiler here, you won’t find it from external resources, it has to come from within. Okay, so you know that already and what you’re wondering is if you should buy this book and the answer is, yes. The information Mr. Zaidi details can only be found in time and through experience, so save yourself the interwebz searches and start here.
Part psychology, part philosophy, part how-to, and a dose of religion and spirituality come together to provide you with the stepping stones to achieving and maintaining happiness throughout life’s challenges.
Broken up into four parts—Principles of happiness; practical techniques to finding and maintaining happiness; a rather heady section on the big picture; and finally, claiming your happiness—Mr. Zaidi doesn’t sprinkle his book with pop psychology and feel-good memes but he does give you a strong understanding of what happiness is AND isn’t. He offers suggestions to improving our understanding of ourselves, reducing negative external influences, and learning from our experiences. “A constantly happy person, along with being mindful, full of passion, and holding high values, also exercises effective reasoning, sound judgment, and wise conduct.”
How to read this book—start at the beginning. Take your time. Gain an understanding of the principles of happiness. If anything resonates with you, stop to do some research. Then move on to part II and once again, research anything that you find of interest. With part III, I will admit to jumping around the big picture and not reading it in the order that Mr. Zaidi had laid out. Concluding with part IV, and in the afterword, Mr. Zaidi tells us that “living happiness” comprises 3 levels: Harmony, enjoyment, and passion; and then he reminds us of what it takes to get there.
Kodiak
Books on happiness and how to be happier have been trending hard for the last few years and I have read many of them. If you are also searching for insight and wisdom on the topic, then Zaidi’s book is a must-read. The book is very well researched and manages to bring original thought to an overwhelmed field that is often filled with redundancies. He promotes a healthy, balanced form of happiness that can become a lifestyle practice, rather than cheap brain tricks or quick fixes that keep you feeling like you are chasing something that will always be out of reach.
The book is laid out well in 4 main sections full of intriguing chapter titles. This makes it easy to navigate. I like to skip around and will definitely be turning back to it for reference, so the organization is nice.
Zaidi has a gift for getting right at the heart of important abstract ideas about happiness that can flit around in the periphery of our minds. The ability to pull these concepts into the light and study them closer will save you time and energy on your path towards happiness. I am eager to reread several chapters and can see that I will be turning to this book often as a sort of devotional when I need clarity. I honestly did not have high expectations when I bought this, but I will definitely be sharing this book with friends and checking out the author’s other books.