The Happiness Trail: A Road Map to Success

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A grande rasgo, el autor propone percibir nuestros pensamientos como lo que son, solo palabras, y prestarles atención solamente si son útiles para poder construir una vida plena y llena de sentido. Y este último es el otro gran elemento de la ACT. Para ello, el autor define qué entiende por "una vida plena y llena de sentido" y propone identificar nuestros valores, o dicho de otra forma, qué es más importante para nosotros, y emprender acciones y objetivos para vivir en consonancia con estos valores.

I agree with the central theory. Humans naturally and inevitably experience a whole range of emotion, including distressing emotion, and it’s much healthier to remain in a non-judgmental, accepting place as opposed to getting all wrapped up in futile attempts to push unpleasant emotion away (bottling) or simply letting it consume and paralyze you (dwelling). Additionally, the way that Harris describes the underlying theory of ACT sure sounds a lot like Buddhist philosophy, even though it hasn’t been labeled as such. Life is pain; non-attachment is the solution; the importance of mindfulness; the benefit of breath work… This all starts to feel a lot like cultural appropriation and philosophical plagiarism. In this book the author talks about just that and how we can be happier. This book talks about the 5 I's that can make us live happier: integrity, interact, involve, imbibe, impact.

The author (Dr. Harris) seems to assume that all his readers have the same thought processes, make the same mistakes, and can be fixed the same way. Connection: Staying fully aware of the present moment and letting yourself experience the present moment with openness, interest, and receptiveness Turn the struggle switch to off--stop struggling against physical or emotional pain. Sure it's unpleasant and we don't like it, but it's nothing terrible.... Without struggle, what we get is a natural level of physical and emotional discomfort, depending on who we are and the situation we're in (= "clean discomfort"). There is no avoiding it. But if we struggle with it, it becomes "dirty discomfort", the emotions are amplified when the struggle switch is on. Dealing with conflicting values (e.g., work vs. family): sometimes you'll need to focus more on one value than another--find the best balance you can. Ask, "What's most important at this moment in my life, given all my conflicting concerns?" Then choose to act on that value, rather than wasting your time uselessly worrying about what you might be giving up or missing out on. This book is very interactive as well with many diagrams and drawings that makes the reading experience better.

Body awareness exercise: notice each of the different aspects of the body--posture, location of parts, temperature differences, scanning for stiffness, tension, pain, discomfort; scanning for pleasant or comfortable sensations. I've been thinking a lot about these things for both the big and little challenges that I face each day, and I have found them useful. This isn't a book that tells you how to be happy all the time, because that is not possible. But it does help you live a life of fulfillment, which I think is what matters most. I also believe that a fulfilling life is a joyful life--note that I do not say a "happy" or "ever-pleasant" life, as I think there is an important distinction. In the pandemic’s context, trust, connectedness, volunteering, community and equality emerged among other conditions that foster well-being. From climate activist to dreamy-eyed solar punk, many believers of a hopeful future extol a similar set of values. It is time now to explore this common ground, to seek the spot where the trail of happiness meets the stream of a clean green tomorrow. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain – p. 216 El presente libro es esencialmente un manual sobre cómo el lector puede implementar en su vida diaria la llamada Terapia de Aceptación y Compromiso (ACT por sus siglas en inglés). Uno de los principios fundamentales de la ACT consiste en aceptar los pensamientos y sentimientos negativos en lugar de luchar contra ellos, o de utilizar estrategias de control de forma excesiva. Para poder fundamentar sus explicaciones, el autor utiliza la dicotomía entre el yo pensante y el yo observante: el primero es esa parte nuestra que está continuamente generando pensamientos y contándonos historias, evaluando todo cuanto nos sucede y cuanto nos rodea; mientras que el segundo se limita a percibir el mundo tal y cómo es, a leer y sentir, y en definitiva, observar todo cuanto vivimos en le momento presente.The hills have the power to soothe and heal which is their very own. No man ever sat alone on the top of a hill and planned a murder or a robbery, and no man ever came down from the hills without feeling in some way refreshed, and the better for his experience.”– Alfred Wainwright 170. “A crude meal, no doubt, but the best of all sauces is hunger.”– Edward Abbey I'm a little at a loss about this one. But I'd like to start by saying that this book has made a significant impact on my motivation and overall quality of life. It's been months since I read it, but its message is still paying dividends. I've always been skeptical of the self-help genre, but this book came at the recommendation of a trusted friend, and I can honestly say that it's one of the most important things I've ever read. My approach to my own mind has always come from a psychoanalytic perspective, in which I have believed that unearthing traumatic elements in my personal history might somehow help me to banish bad thoughts forever. But this book gave me my first exposure to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and more specifically, the branch of it known as Acceptance Commitment Therapy. This approach to the mind is based on the acceptance that no matter what you do, a massive portion of your thoughts and self-talk will be negative. These thoughts can't be overpowered by positive visualization or a talking cure, but only by accepting them for the negative thoughts they are and moving on. Bad thoughts are not YOU; they are simply "things" being secreted by your brain and need to be treated as such.

This book is told in simple language that is so easy for the readers to understand what the author is trying to say. The thing I liked the most about this book is this book doesn't feel too preachy like other self help book. It feels like we are being taught about finding happiness by a teacher. The happiness report found trust and benevolence among the important drivers of well-being and that they also go a long way in fighting the pandemic. Think of the angels and the fire-fighters. Think of the assurance to know that you are not alone. The study asserts, ‘The extent to which people trust their governments, and have trust in the benevolence of others, supports not only their ability to maintain their happiness before and during the pandemic but also reduces the Covid-19 death toll....’ An excellent book I would recommend to anyone interested in mental health, either their own or those around them, or the concept at large. In The Happiness Trap, Russ Harris crafts a persuasive, intelligent argument for why we should stop aiming for happiness and instead aim for a mindful, values-driven life. His ideas in this book come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a newer, third-wave cognitive behavioral therapy that has shown promising effectiveness in research studies. He starts the book by dispelling “happiness myths,” such as how happiness is the natural state for all humans, or how to live a better life we have to get rid of negative feelings. After this first section, he goes on to provide several strategies for increasing psychological flexibility, core principles that help us cultivate a rich and meaningful life. I will provide a super brief synopsis of each one:Must practice connection, like building muscles--the more you practice, the more strength you have to change your life. Your values are always with you, always available. And being faithful to them is usually deeply rewarding. So the more you embrace your values, the greater your sense of fulfillment. The Happiness Trail is a Velocity Artist in residence programme, funded by Clyde Gateway, managed & administered by Glasgow Life from 2018 to 2021; with initial support also from Creative Scotland and Festival 2018. Dr Russ Harris is a medically-qualified doctor, stress consultant, executive coach, trainer, author, and a leading authority in the powerful new paradigm of Psychological Flexibility. (This is a revolutionary new development in human psychology that enhances performance, reduces stress, and improves health and wellbeing.) Dr Russ regularly presents workshops on Psychological Flexibility at both national and international psychology conferences, and has a thriving business traveling around Australia running training seminars for psychologists, coaches and a variety of health professionals.