Hacking Into Happiness

Learn to love uncertainty—and shape the future you want You have a successful life; a professional career, nice home, maybe kids or even a dog, so why are you so damn unhappy? Spread so thin at work, nothing gets the attention it needs; tasked with leading others through rapid change, you’re not sure where you’re heading yourself. Disruptive technology, catastrophic global events and increasing mental health problems means your secure and linear pathway to happiness no longer exists. Success today is not about the perfect plan to achieve more, manage change and mitigate risk. Our brave new world is calling us to throw out any rulebook and leap into what we fear most—the unknown. That’s exactly what Penny Locaso did when she turned her life upside-down to tackle our happiness-deficit problem. She emerged as the world’s first Happiness Hacker and the inventor of the Intentional Adaptability Quotient®: a quantifiable method for individuals and organisations to become more skillful at, and even relish, adapting to rapid change. Welcomed by business leaders worldwide, IAQ® catapulted Penny to prominence as a TedX Talk star and faculty member at the acclaimed Singularity University by showing that in our highly disruptive present we must embrace instability and complexity to achieve clarity, purpose, and the sense of meaning that brings real joy. Learn how experimentation, danger, and even failure are crucial to happiness and success Take courage and focus on what you’re avoiding, not what you’re missing Reskill yourself and others to accept—and even enjoy–uncertainty Explore your IAQ®: focus, courage, curiosity, accountability, connection, experimentation and reflection This book is an opportunity to look at work and the world through a new lens and see that by surfing on the edges of our comfort zone we—professionals, leaders, everyone—can intentionally adapt to create a successful and fulfilling future.

Discover simple ways to be happier in your everyday life with these hacks that encourage positive thinking to improve your mood and outlook in any situation. Everyone wants to be happier, but often many people don’t know where to start. In Happiness Hacks, you’ll find 300 quick and easy ways to increase happiness in every area of life, including improving relationships, finding joy in your career and workplace, and developing a supportive community. From handling difficult situations, seeking personal growth, and discovering ways to share enjoyment with others, this book can teach you to hack happiness, think positively, and find more satisfaction in your everyday life.

"Explores how industry has manipulated our most deep-seated survival instincts."—David Perlmutter, MD, Author, #1 New York Times bestseller, Grain Brain and Brain Maker The New York Times–bestselling author of Fat Chance reveals the corporate scheme to sell pleasure, driving the international epidemic of addiction, depression, and chronic disease. While researching the toxic and addictive properties of sugar for his New York Times bestseller Fat Chance, Robert Lustig made an alarming discovery—our pursuit of happiness is being subverted by a culture of addiction and depression from which we may never recover. Dopamine is the “reward” neurotransmitter that tells our brains we want more; yet every substance or behavior that releases dopamine in the extreme leads to addiction. Serotonin is the “contentment” neurotransmitter that tells our brains we don’t need any more; yet its deficiency leads to depression. Ideally, both are in optimal supply. Yet dopamine evolved to overwhelm serotonin—because our ancestors were more likely to survive if they were constantly motivated—with the result that constant desire can chemically destroy our ability to feel happiness, while sending us down the slippery slope to addiction. In the last forty years, government legislation and subsidies have promoted ever-available temptation (sugar, drugs, social media, porn) combined with constant stress (work, home, money, Internet), with the end result of an unprecedented epidemic of addiction, anxiety, depression, and chronic disease. And with the advent of neuromarketing, corporate America has successfully imprisoned us in an endless loop of desire and consumption from which there is no obvious escape. With his customary wit and incisiveness, Lustig not only reveals the science that drives these states of mind, he points his finger directly at the corporations that helped create this mess, and the government actors who facilitated it, and he offers solutions we can all use in the pursuit of happiness, even in the face of overwhelming opposition. Always fearless and provocative, Lustig marshals a call to action, with seminal implications for our health, our well-being, and our culture.

"For years, Ellen Leanse worked with titans like Apple, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft. As she watched innovations create new habits in tech, she also noticed a dramatic rise in stress. But what if our habits can instead be hacked for happiness? In this refreshing, practical book, you'll learn proven methods to hack your mind so you can: Have more time to do things you love ; Create real connections with the world around you ; Stop living your life on autopilot ; Reclaim focus for the things that matter ; and most importantly, REDUCE STRESS. With the hands-on tips and tricks from the HAPPINESS HACK, you'll be back in control of your mind and living the life you deserve to live."--Page 4 of cover

Highly Effective Hacks From Totally True Facts! Could you be happier at work . . . in love . . . in life? You may not need a total overhaul—just a few good Happiness Hacks! Here are hundreds of shortcuts to brighten your day and boost your mood—and the science behind how they work. Discover why . . . 57°F (13.9°C) is the happiest temperature Selfies give you a jolt of joy Renters have a surprising edge over homeowners 17-minute breaks are the most productive Intimacy is better than sex It’s more satisfying to work a full 40-hour week Date night is the key to a happy marriage Just 10 minutes of exercise can cheer you up! Whether you’re seeking better health, stronger friendships, or that elusive “happy place,” these stunningly simple tips are proven to help. You can hack your way to happiness!

Presents a twenty-one-day, three-step training program to achieve healthier thought patterns for a better quality of life by using the repetitive steps of analyzing, imagining, and reprogramming to help break down the barriers, including negative thought loops and mental roadblocks.

How would you feel if you were peaceful and happy on a daily basis? Wouldn't that be simply fantastic? Hacking Into Happiness is written by Evan L. Lipkis MD, Funda Kahn DDS, CHI and Lynn Freedman MEd, RDN, LD who have a combined century of clinical experience. They are going to show you the surprising, mind-blowing, scientifically proven techniques to hack into your own personal source of happiness. Imagine how unbelievable that would feel! Literally, this book is essentially happiness for dummies. Buy it, read it, and then practice it. Happiness is a choice that you make and these skilled authors will provide you with the happiness advantage. Here are just a few valuable tips you'll discover in this valuable happiness guide: Find out how most people try to become happy and why it fails Learn the single most important tip to become happy from a 75 year old study Discover the three pillars of happiness that really work Get the inside story about the authors' struggle with happiness. Absorb the crucial but simple skills to keep yourself happy for a lifetime This is your happiness journal for life. The authors have clearly unlocked the happiness secrets for you to live an enjoyable life. Whether you are somewhat happy, depressed, stressed, addicted, fed up or miserable, these happiness hacks can help you to become whole again. We waste so much time and energy searching for happiness by looking to make more money and to buy more things? Such does little to kindle the light of persistent joy. Buy this book now and you'll receive the blueprint for peace, love and happiness. This is your million dollar playbook for happiness written by three professionals who are going to teach you the simple formula to help you live the life of your dreams.

“Technology is a great servant but a terrible master. This is the most important book ever written about one of the most significant aspects of our lives—the consequences of our addiction to online technology and how we can liberate ourselves and our children from it.” —Dean Ornish, M.D. Founder & President, Preventive Medicine Research Institute, Clinical Professor of Medicine, UCSF, Author, The Spectrum Technology: your master, or your friend? Do you feel ruled by your smartphone and enslaved by your e-mail or social-network activities? Digital technology is making us miserable, say bestselling authors and former tech executives Vivek Wadhwa and Alex Salkever. We've become a tribe of tech addicts—and it's not entirely our fault. Taking advantage of vulnerabilities in human brain function, tech companies entice us to overdose on technology interaction. This damages our lives, work, families, and friendships. Swipe-driven dating apps train us to evaluate people like products, diminishing our relationships. At work, we e-mail on average 77 times a day, ruining our concentration. At home, light from our screens is contributing to epidemic sleep deprivation. But we can reclaim our lives without dismissing technology. The authors explain how to avoid getting hooked on tech and how to define and control the roles that tech is playing and could play in our lives. And they provide a guide to technological and personal tools for regaining control. This readable book turns personal observation into a handy action guide to adapting to our new reality of omnipresent technology.