Superbook Review: Stumbling On Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
"This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to better understand themselves and the nature of happiness."
Stumbling On Happiness by Daniel Gilbert- Superbook Review
1st published 02-03-2023
By SHiNER The Human and JaRViS AI
Title: Stumbling On Happiness
Author: Daniel Gilbert
Chapters: 11
Pages: 263 (299 pages with notes)
1st Published: 2006
Subject: Happiness / Psychology
Topic: Neurocognition
Single Sentence Summary:
Daniel Gilbert's book, Stumbling on Happiness, explores the idea that our human ability to imagine and predict the future gives us potential control over our lives but unfortunately, we are often misled by our imagination and lack the insight to be able to truly understand what makes us happy.
Is This Book For Me?
Stumbling on Happiness is an excellent book for anyone who wants to better understand themselves and the nature of happiness.
Individuals of all ages and backgrounds can benefit from reading Stumbling on Happiness.
This book is for you if you want to:
- gain a better understanding of yourself
- understand the nature of happiness
- learn how to cultivate greater meaning in your life
It is particularly helpful for:
- professionals in mental health
- professionals in personal development
- counselors
- life coaches
- career advisors
Stumbling on Happiness offers insight into the science of happiness and presents strategies if you:
- need to understand how people think
- care about your future
- are interested in neurocognition
- want to make better decisions for a more fulfilling life
- are willing to improve your life
- are hoping to find true happiness in life
- seek change
This book is NOT for you if you are NOT hoping to find true happiness in life.
You can just stop reading now.
Explain It To Me Briefly:
Daniel Gilbert, a famous Harvard psychologist and author, wrote a book about why our predictions for what will make us happy are often wrong. He uses research and stories to show how our memory can make us remember things wrongly, which makes it hard to plan for the future.
Why can't we imagine what will happen in the future? Daniel Gilbert's book explains it in a way that is easy to understand. He shows how our memories can make us think negatively about past events - just like our imaginations do not accurately show us what will happen in the future. Learn more about why people behave the way they do with this interesting book!
In this book, Gilbert explores the science behind happiness and what makes us happy. He uses research and his own unique brand of humour to answer questions such as: What would make conjoined twins content? Can Ingrid Bergman find true joy in Casablanca if she decides to stay? Should we always choose familiarity or go with something new when dining out? The book is both enlightening and amusing, and shows just how complicated the journey to happiness can be!
Super Review:
Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert is a witty and accessible book that explores the foibles of imagination and illusions of foresight that can lead to happiness.
Stumbling on Happiness is a book by Daniel Gilbert exploring the idea of human happiness.
It explores how our ability to imagine and predict the future gives us potential control over our lives, but often leads us astray instead of giving us more insight into how to be truly happy.
The book explains why people are so bad at predicting long-term happiness, and the shortcomings of imagination when it comes to trying to understand the future.
It presents evidence from research and personal experiences in order to make its arguments.
It covers topics such as decision-making and regret, expectations, memory and nostalgia, memory distortion and biases, the power of emotion, the importance of context and environment in determining happiness, and fulfillment versus success.
The book argues that we need to pay attention to both short-term satisfactions as well as long-term goals when considering our own happiness levels.
It discusses how having a better understanding of ourselves can help us gain more insight into what makes us happy in life.
The book offers advice on cultivating meaning in life and changing attitudes towards risks that are necessary for achieving greater fulfillment or reaching specific goals in life.
In his analysis, Gilbert provides a comparison between humans and other animals in terms of their respective abilities to forecast or predict future outcomes or states of mind.
Gilbert concludes the book by suggesting ways for readers to become "happier thermostats" through enhancing self-understanding and establishing achievable goals with realistic expectations concerning their attainability over time.
In Stumbling on Happiness, renowned Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert takes readers on an exploration of the human brain's greatest ability: imagination. Through his research, Gilbert reveals how our imaginations can lead us astray and how we can use this knowledge to find true happiness. He explains how our minds are wired to think in the present moment, yet often project into the future with unrealistic expectations. By understanding our own limitations, we can learn to make better decisions for ourselves and create a more fulfilling life.
Gilbert's writing style is engaging and accessible, making it easy for readers to understand his concepts without getting bogged down in technical jargon. His insights are backed by scientific research but also draw from personal anecdotes which add a touch of humour and relatability.
Overall, Stumbling on Happiness is an enjoyable read that provides valuable insight into how we can best navigate our lives in pursuit of true happiness.
This Book Is Super Because:
This book is super because it is about how our imagination and the things we think we know can make us happy or not. It has information from scientists and stories from people's lives to show us how to make better choices and have a life that is more enjoyable. The book is easy to read without using big words, and it is fun too.
After reading this book, you will know more about what to do to be truly happy.
Super Summary:
Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert is a fascinating and accessible book that provides readers insight into the complexities of how our imagination and illusions of foresight can lead to happiness. Using both research and personal anecdotes, Gilbert explains how our brains are naturally wired to think in the present moment but how this can be an obstacle when trying to imagine what will make us happy in the future. He shares valuable advice on how to better navigate our lives and make decisions that will bring true contentment.
"Upon reading this book, you will be equipped with tools to find joy and create a more fulfilling life"
Direct Quote From Book Website:
"Most of us spend our lives steering ourselves toward the best of all possible futures, only to find that tomorrow rarely turns out as we had presumed. Why?
As Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert explains, when people try to imagine what the future will hold, they make some basic and consistent mistakes. Just as memory plays tricks on us when we try to look backward in time, so does imagination play tricks when we try to look forward.
Using cutting-edge research, much of it original, Gilbert shakes, cajoles, persuades, tricks, and jokes us into accepting the fact that happiness is not really what or where we thought it was.
Smart, witty, accessible, and laugh-out-loud funny, Stumbling on Happiness brilliantly describes all that science has to tell us about the uniquely human endeavor to envision the future, and how likely we are to enjoy it when we get there."
-Stumbling On Happiness Official Site
Is There More:
Daniel Gilbert has not published any other books.
He has edited one. Handbook of Social Psychology 5 Edition
He has written many, many papers.
He has appeared on tv and in film.
His full bio and works can be found at his official site: danielgilbert.com
Gilbert's essays have been featured in some of the most prominent publications, including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Forbes and Time. His short stories have appeared in Amazing Stories and Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine alongside other esteemed magazines and anthologies. He was also invited to appear on various television shows such as 20/20, The Today Show, Charlie Rose and even The Colbert Report! Co-writing a 6-hour series for PBS titled 'This Emotional Life' which aired early 2010 resulted in Gilbert winning numerous Telly Awards for his accomplishments.
He has given three popular TED talks, including one of the 25 most-viewed talks of all time (as of November 2022).
You can find them here -> Daniel Gilbert TED Talks
Daniel Todd Gilbert
About The Author:
Daniel Todd Gilbert, a renowned American social psychologist and writer who holds the title of Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, is widely acclaimed for his joint research with Timothy Wilson from the University of Virginia on affective forecasting.
His international bestseller "Stumbling on Happiness", which won him the 2007 Royal Society Prizes for Science Books award and was translated into more than 30 languages, further solidified his reputation as an influential figure in psychology.
Adding to this list are essays he has written for several newspapers and magazines; hosting a non-fiction television series on PBS; delivering three powerful TED talks!
At the age of 15, Gilbert made a daring decision to leave high school and embark on an amazing journey hitchhiking around America. Afterward, he achieved his GED and completed both a Bachelor's in Psychology from University of Colorado Denver (1981) as well as earned his PhD in Social Psychology from Princeton (1985). With an appointment at UT Austin for 11 years between 1985-1996; until becoming Harvard University's Edgar Pierce Professor where he still teaches today.
He and his wife, Marilynn Oliphant, live in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Gilbert has one son and three grandchildren.
Sources:
Wikipedia (cause who doesn't)
And the book itself.
Stumbling On Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
Read it. It is super!
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"Thanks for reading our superreview!"
-JaRViS and SHiNER
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