Official Review: The True Guide to Genuine Happiness
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kayla1080
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Official Review: The True Guide to Genuine Happiness
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The True Guide to Genuine Happiness" by Dalibor Ivicic.]
3 out of 4 stars
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If you’re a fan of books about self-improvement, definitely check out The True Guide to Genuine Happiness. I thought this was a great perspective on happiness and life fulfillment. Happiness is different for everybody, and this guide is relatable to anyone, breaking down pretty valid theories on themes like self-analysis, changing your environment, finding purpose, the importance of time, dealing with problems, and more.
Ivicic explains the importance of doing work you love because you naturally go beyond what is expected and required and leads to personal fulfillment. As I’m going through a tough time right now with my profession, I find myself referring back to The True Guide to Genuine Happiness. It makes sense that satisfaction comes from the the pursuit of a worthy goal and helping others. I liked this quote by Ivicic, “finding one’s personal niche and doing something with passion while making the world a better place is an ideal way to attain personal fulfillment.”
It’s putting this advice into practice that it’s hard for me to do, but luckily this book gives affirmation of how necessary it is. Here are some key points that perked me up a little bit:
- To hate one’s work is self-punishment. Forty hours a week is too high a price to pay. it erodes energy levels, joy and health.
- Without passion and love in your work, boredom soon replaces any initial enthusiasm.
- To excel at anything, you must cultivate skills.
- Only 5% of the population realizes their potential and achieves notable success because they pursue it relentlessly.
- Environments can bring out talents or it can hinder their discovery and development.
- You are at a disadvantage to remain in a bad environment because it takes too much effort to stay positive. Look for people who will not limit you.
In my workplace, problems get brushed under the rug, but Ivicic is true in that “problems never solve themselves and the sooner you take action, the better”. It takes courage to deal with problems and not whine about it, and people should be proud of being able to face problems head-on. The True Guide to Genuine Happiness explains what it takes to be a cheerful warrior, the best ways to deal with grief, and if you’re in a bad situation with no alternative, the only way out is patience.
There was also a great section on time management. People this day in age complain that they don’t have enough time, but the average person watches four hours of TV a day. Cutting this down is one way to get time back. This book breaks down how a person should spend an average day, including: 8 hours of work, 30 minutes of exercise, 2 hours of working on your life’s purpose, relaxation, eating, and sleep. Since reading this book, I’ve been watching less TV and dedicating more time to my life’s purpose. I think you really have to press yourself hard and look inward with time management to get proper balance in life.
One of my other favorite sections was on how emotions play into your happiness- how worry and anger are completely stupid, useless emotions and if we look back we’ll see that 99% of those types of thoughts are unnecessary. Fear limits choices in life and we may fail to miss out on once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
The book ends with the simple truth that “difficulties come from incorrect application to universal law” and how lucky we are as humans to have the freedom to think (unlike animals, who act on instinct.) Like other books on happiness, we all need to practice giving, tuning into our inner selves, and lead the lives we were meant to lead. Hopefully it’s not too late for me.
I touched very briefly on some parts that resonated with me, but The True Guide to Genuine Happiness has a wealth of knowledge throughout the whole thing. It is well-written and there are some great anecdotal stories to drive home the point. As a bonus, there are 120 self-analysis questions readers can ponder at the end. This may be the one book that kick-starts change for me, and for that I rate it 3 out of 4 stars.
******
The True Guide to Genuine Happiness
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like kayla1080's review? Post a comment saying so!
3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
If you’re a fan of books about self-improvement, definitely check out The True Guide to Genuine Happiness. I thought this was a great perspective on happiness and life fulfillment. Happiness is different for everybody, and this guide is relatable to anyone, breaking down pretty valid theories on themes like self-analysis, changing your environment, finding purpose, the importance of time, dealing with problems, and more.
Ivicic explains the importance of doing work you love because you naturally go beyond what is expected and required and leads to personal fulfillment. As I’m going through a tough time right now with my profession, I find myself referring back to The True Guide to Genuine Happiness. It makes sense that satisfaction comes from the the pursuit of a worthy goal and helping others. I liked this quote by Ivicic, “finding one’s personal niche and doing something with passion while making the world a better place is an ideal way to attain personal fulfillment.”
It’s putting this advice into practice that it’s hard for me to do, but luckily this book gives affirmation of how necessary it is. Here are some key points that perked me up a little bit:
- To hate one’s work is self-punishment. Forty hours a week is too high a price to pay. it erodes energy levels, joy and health.
- Without passion and love in your work, boredom soon replaces any initial enthusiasm.
- To excel at anything, you must cultivate skills.
- Only 5% of the population realizes their potential and achieves notable success because they pursue it relentlessly.
- Environments can bring out talents or it can hinder their discovery and development.
- You are at a disadvantage to remain in a bad environment because it takes too much effort to stay positive. Look for people who will not limit you.
In my workplace, problems get brushed under the rug, but Ivicic is true in that “problems never solve themselves and the sooner you take action, the better”. It takes courage to deal with problems and not whine about it, and people should be proud of being able to face problems head-on. The True Guide to Genuine Happiness explains what it takes to be a cheerful warrior, the best ways to deal with grief, and if you’re in a bad situation with no alternative, the only way out is patience.
There was also a great section on time management. People this day in age complain that they don’t have enough time, but the average person watches four hours of TV a day. Cutting this down is one way to get time back. This book breaks down how a person should spend an average day, including: 8 hours of work, 30 minutes of exercise, 2 hours of working on your life’s purpose, relaxation, eating, and sleep. Since reading this book, I’ve been watching less TV and dedicating more time to my life’s purpose. I think you really have to press yourself hard and look inward with time management to get proper balance in life.
One of my other favorite sections was on how emotions play into your happiness- how worry and anger are completely stupid, useless emotions and if we look back we’ll see that 99% of those types of thoughts are unnecessary. Fear limits choices in life and we may fail to miss out on once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
The book ends with the simple truth that “difficulties come from incorrect application to universal law” and how lucky we are as humans to have the freedom to think (unlike animals, who act on instinct.) Like other books on happiness, we all need to practice giving, tuning into our inner selves, and lead the lives we were meant to lead. Hopefully it’s not too late for me.
I touched very briefly on some parts that resonated with me, but The True Guide to Genuine Happiness has a wealth of knowledge throughout the whole thing. It is well-written and there are some great anecdotal stories to drive home the point. As a bonus, there are 120 self-analysis questions readers can ponder at the end. This may be the one book that kick-starts change for me, and for that I rate it 3 out of 4 stars.
******
The True Guide to Genuine Happiness
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like kayla1080's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: Final Notice by Van Fleisher
