Stumbling on Happiness

What would you do right now if you learned that you were going to die in ten minutes?

So take a couple of minutes to let that question settle in and decide how you would respond. This year I've made a point to really increase the number and variety of books I read. To help with this goal I've set up a Goodreads account and have been tracking my progress and finding new books to add to my list. One of my selections in June was "Stumbling on Happiness" by Daniel Gilbert. Gilbert poses the above mentioned question and many others to readers. As a scientist he also includes scientific studies and experiments throughout the book to provide context and science to support his research. When tackling the questions as to what will make one happy Gilbert has three points.

1. When we imagine our state of mind (happiness, sadness, feeling due to hypothetical events), key details may be added or missing without us realizing it. (Not unlike the blind spot.) Very often, it's those details that ultimately make us happy.
 2. When we imagine the future (or recall the past), it is far less imaginative than we think. Our mental picture will be very much like the present and our "imagined" feelings will be strongly influenced by the current state of mind. 
3. When events actually happen, we view it far differently than before it had happened. Our psychological "immune system" will distort our perception of major psychological events to help shield us from undesirable effects (pain, depression).

In the end Gilbert proposes a solution to how one can predict what will make them happy that many would probably disagree and argue against. The solution presented by Dr. Gilbert to accurately estimate our happiness is to draw our conclusion from people with similar backgrounds and experiences. Many of us feel we are so unique that we couldn't possibly judge our own appreciation of an experience solely based on the experience of another, but this is Gilbert's argument.


I rated this book a "3" out of 5 on the Goodreads rating system. I did enjoy the topic and Gilbert includes several fun pictures and experiments to try out yourself, but at times he can be very technical when discussing scientific research which can be laborious to read and comprehend quickly.


Has anyone read the book yet? How would you respond to the introduction question?

--Krystal

(Purchase this book here on Amazon)