Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World

Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World
By Jim Johnson

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Product Description

Based entirely on research from peer-reviewed journals and randomized controlled trials, Finding Happiness In a Frustrating World is an easily read story that reveals what is known about the science of happiness. In less than 100 pages, readers will have all the necessary knowledge and tools that will enable them to increase their happiness levels. A step-by-step plan is also included which guides the reader through the process.

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #621643 in Books
Published on: 2008-10-15
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
76 pages

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

I took a break from my usual musculoskeletal pain books to write about a topic I'd been researching off and on for years- happiness. I first became particularly interested in this subject when I began treating inpatients, that is people who are admitted to the hospital that stay for treatment. Doctors regularly order physical therapy to get their patients stronger and moving better.

Now since I work at a large teaching hospital, I have had opportunities to see just about every type of diagnosis one can think of, from the cancer patient, to the hip replacement patient, to the stroke or heart attack patient. Needless to say, I see some very sick people on a weekly basis.

Over time, I began to notice that there were certain patients who, despite being horribly ill, and sometimes about to die, somehow managed to stay genuinely happy. Struck by this, I began researching happiness and the scientific field of positive psychology. What I've had the opportunity to experience and learn about has become Finding Happiness In a Frustrating World.

(added by author)

About the Author
Jim Johnson, P.T. is a physical therapist who has spent over nineteen years treating both inpatients and outpatients with a wide range of pain and mobility problems. He has written many books based completely on published research and controlled trials including The Multifidus Back Pain Solution, Treat Your Own Knees, The Sixty-Second Motivator, Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff, The 5-Minute Plantar Fasciitis Solution, Exercise Beats Depression, and Treat Your Own Tennis Elbow. His books have been translated into other languages and thousands of copies have been sold worldwide. Besides working full-time as a clinician in a large teaching hospital and writing books, Jim Johnson is a certified Clinical Instructor by the American Physical Therapy Association and enjoys teaching physical therapy students from all over the United States.

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Customer Reviews

Ironically frustrating to read
I am not sure how to explain the positive reviews of this book.

- The book is only 60 pages long, but even so, it uses a large type face. There is really only 30 pages of content which could have been edited down to 20 pages. A lot of space is taken up by rather pedestrian conversational speech. Also, At the end of the book, 7 pages of references to academic articles which are of very little use to the average reader.

- 90% of the book consists of an impromptu interview taped by the author (referred to as "the young therapist") of a professor of psychology identified only as "the old professor". The interviewer asks only basic questions and the interviewee gives only basic answers. The remainder of the book rehashes things discussed earlier and provides a very simplistic step-by-step plan that is mostly common sense stuff.

- The author refers to himself throughout the book as "the young therapist". This is misleading, since he is not a psychotherapist of any kind, but rather is a physical therapist with no more formal training in behavioral science than you or I.

- All the information presented is very basic and very fluffy. A cut down version of this interview might have made an interesting magazine article, but it does not merit a book. Most of the information is already known by most people, and all of it is widely available for free on the Internet.

Connecting The Dots
While I've considered myself generally "happy" throughout my life, I must say there have been some frustrating times when I had to ask myself, "am I there yet". My attitude about happiness has always been rather complacent - a nebulous concept that either happens or doesn't happen while or after I did or got things. I don't think I consciously connected most of my goals with "happiness" but focused instead on just working to complete something. This book really changed that attitude!

After reading the book, I have come to realize that the magnifying glass on it's front cover is not merely a symbolic tool used in a spatial search for happiness, but more importantly that I needed to closely examine my concept of happiness. It showed me that in addition to the "what" or "where" happiness is, I first need to focus on the "why" of a goal or thing that I believe will give me happiness. And the author laid out a clear and logical plan for the "how".

I particularly liked the easy-going, low-key style of the book - a lot of good question and answer dialog that the author uses to clarify the concepts he presents. The chapter summary notations reinforced my understanding as I progressed through the book and it all flowed at a comfortable pace that kept me thoroughly interested throughout my reading. I also like the reference section at the end of the book. I think the author really did his homework and definitely scratched beneath the surface of the topic. For me, reading this book and practicing the step-by-step plan was kind of like scratching off one of those lotto cards and finding a clear image of happiness underneath. I found a lot of valuable information there! I highly recommend this gem of a book.

Short but very sweet!!
This has been a very inspiring book for me, especially in these hard economic times! We all need to be reminded of what we are all doing this for, as the daily grind has a tendency to defocus us.

This book makes you stop, center yourself and look to see how far we stray from what we are really after.

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