The Happiness Files: Insights on Work and Life Arthur C. Brooks Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Contents Introduction: Happiness and Your Start-up Life: Your life is the most important management task you will ever undertake. Part One: On Managing Yourself 1. How to Succeed at Failure: Sometimes you just can’t win. Make the most of it. 2. Stop Spending Time on Things You Hate: Your time on Earth is precious and limited. Here’s how to waste it. 3. Feeling Burned Out? Here’s What to Do: The way to break the cycle is by creating meaningful boundaries between work and life. 4. Procrastinate This, Not That: Do your chores now. Put the creative work off for a day. 5. Overwhelmed? Just Say “No”: The science of how to stop saying “yes” to everything. 6. How to Worry Less and Be Happier: Start by simply writing down what’s bothering you. 7. Why a Bit of Restraint Can Do You a Lot of Good: If authenticity leads to acting out, it won’t bring you happiness. 8. Your Money Worries Might Be Hiding Something Deeper: Once you’ve met your basic needs, riches won’t help you feel better about yourself. Part Two: On Jobs, Money, and Building Your Career 9. The Happiest Way to Change Jobs: How to rock your work rather than let the work rule you. 10. Why You Should Trust Your Gut: Careful, deliberate reasoning can get you only so far in good decision making. 11. Give Your Money. Give Your Time. Don’t Tell Anyone: You can find deep, lasting happiness in a good deed that no one knows you did. 12. How to Buy Happiness: The way you spend your money makes all the difference to your well-being. 13. The Two Choices That Keep a Midlife Crisis at Bay: Middle age is an opportunity to find transcendence. 14. Schopenhauer’s Advice on How to Achieve Great Things: Three rules that can supercharge your effort, inspired by the 19th-century philosopher. Part Three: On Communicating and Connecting with Others 15. How to Take—and Give—Criticism Well: Bad reviews feel terrible, but accepting (and using) them will lighten your load. 16. How to Give a Great Compliment: Beware of pro forma praise—and recognize true acts of kindness instead. 17. Meetings Are Miserable: One of the most straightforward paths to happiness is fighting the meeting scourge. 18. The Trouble with Zooming Forever: It may be convenient, but it will never make us as happy as real human interaction. 19. The Case for Mindful Cursing: Swearing can make you happier, as long as you do it for the right reasons. 20. How to Speak Truth Without Fear: And avoid alienating everyone you know. Part Four: On Balancing Work, Life, and Relationships 21. Jung’s Five Pillars of a Good Life: The great Swiss psychoanalyst left us a surprisingly practical guide to being happier. 22. How to Influence People—and Make Friends: The key to persuasion is listening sincerely to what people have to say. 23. Why You Should Stop Worrying About Your Parenting: You have less effect on them than you think—but your love will make them happy. 24. How to Know Your Frenemy: That person who poses as your ally but isn’t? They make you sick, literally. 25. Don’t Be Deceived by First Impressions: We need to move beyond our evolutionary tendency to form snap judgments. 26. What to Do If the Course of True Love Is Not Running Smoothly: Be prepared for failure, and learn from it, to realize ultimate bliss. 27. 10 Practical Ways to Improve Happiness: You need advice that goes beyond “Be Danish.” Part Five: On How You Define Success 28. Why Success Can Feel So Bitter: Achieving a goal and achieving happiness are entirely different. 29. Why You Might Want to Toss Out Your Trophies: Are your mementos of personal triumph making you feel like a has-been? 30. The Magic of a Little Danger: To get happier, be brave—not reckless. 31. How Smart People Can Stop Being Miserable: Intelligence can make you happier, but only if you see it as more than a tool to get ahead. 32. Think Twice Before Taking the Top Job: Getting the corner office might mean sacrificing a little happiness. 33. If You Want Success, Pursue Happiness: Chasing achievement to get happier is a fool’s errand; start with happiness instead. Notes Index Acknowledgments About the Author Cover Page iii iv v vii viii ix x xi xii 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 59 61 62 63 64 65 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 79 80 81 82 83 85 86 87 88 89 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 99 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 119 120 121 122 123 125 126 127 128 129 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 185 187 188 189 190 191 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 247 249