Happy Ever After: Escaping the Myths of the Perfect Life by Paul Dolan

" Very interesting book that looks at classic narratives about human life and explains why they are false. Really thought provoking and provided good advice on how to live your life differently to what you're conventionally told. Really recommend this book if you want to think about living your life differently and getting more fulfillment from life...." " It is really difficult to control our happiness because happiness is a state of mind that we cannot will ourselves into or rationalise it to achieve it. So what’s the point of this book – or any book that purports to show us the way to happiness? This book by Paul Dolan is not a self-help book , but one that helps us understand what goes on in our minds so far as our desires and ambitions are concerned, and to know why we are happy. One can suppose that the fact that the knowledge that one is happy for the right reasons might bring a small glow of self-satisfaction, which, in turn, adds to the aggregate of the happiness we feel......"

- ... embracing diversity can enhance personal experiences and broaden professional gains ....

- We must not forget that happiness is experienced moment-to-moment. DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF was a bestseller for Richard Carlson a couple of decades ago, and many people still use the saying as a way to remind themselves or others that they should not let the little annoyances in life drive them crazy. BUT Happiness (amd misery) are found in the small stuff; in the moments of laughter (or tears) with a friend ... So rather than thinking about how to get rich, for example, you might instead focus on how you can ensure you get enough sleep every night .....

- The crucial point is that there is no one-size-fits-all prescription for how to live and we need to free ourselves from the idea that there is .... a focus on happiness is the key to overcoming misguided biases driven by social stories.

- Swearing is only ever harmful when it is used in an aggressive or abusive way, and not when used as a means of conveying excitement and emphasis, which is only ever how I use it in the workplace ....

- From a psychologist's perspective, social narratives are akin to established 'social norms'. There is no standard definition of a social norm but it usually contains some combination of these three elements : it comprises behavioural regularities ; there is a sense of 'oughtness' to it ; and there are sanctions associated with deviating from it. As such, social norms have become fairly limiting behavioural rules that people are expected to follow .....