Review of Happiness is All We Want!
Posted: 16 Oct 2021, 02:27
[Following is a volunteer review of "Happiness is All We Want!" by Ashutosh Mishra.]
Happiness is All We Want! by Ashutosh Mishra is a self-help book that explores the steps one can take in order to achieve happiness. The book is separated into three parts which cover advice that the individual can use to improve themselves. The first part is about mental well-being, where the author draws parallels of the life of a monkey to ours due to its restlessness. The second part is about physical well-being, where a donkey is used as a metaphor to express the trap of unhealthy lifestyles. The last part is about spiritual well-being, which is likened to a flying horse to discuss the negligence of our soul. At the end of each chapter, the author provides a coherent list of things to ponder about and things to do based on what was discussed in the chapter.
In terms of positives, I enjoy reading about the author’s “Happiness Moment”, which is a short segment in some chapters for the author to share the little things in which he finds joy. It shows the author’s gratitude in life, which is contagious because it encourages me to do the same. The overall structure of the book also makes it easy to read with various other segments included in the chapters such as “TechTraps”, “Well-being Story” and “Practical Tip”. For the reader’s convenience, there is a summary of all the advice within the chapter labeled as “Smart Well-being Capsule (SWC)”.
Additionally, there is clever usage of metaphors whereby human behaviors are paralleled with animals to put emphasis on the message of the book. I find myself agreeing with a lot of the points stated in the book, especially about how external success is not equivalent to internal happiness. Putting less emphasis on material wealth aligns very closely with my personal beliefs as well. The short stories shared by real people in the book are also very inspiring to read about.
Despite my initial praises, there are still some negatives within the book. The first flaw is the shallow coverage of the topics. Most of the message just scratches the surface and encourages the reader to find out more information on their own. While this can be excused as a way for the book to remain compact and easy to read, it fails to deliver any sense of urgency or anything to fully convince the reader to transform their lifestyles. It is also slightly geared towards Hinduism and Buddhism which gets confusing for the average reader with no background information about these particular beliefs.
With all these things considered, I would rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars. The reason is that the book is motivational and easy to read if one is able to overlook minor spelling and grammatical errors. This book primarily acts as a nudge towards the right direction as the reader would have to put in the work to actually change their lives in order for the book to be effective. Therefore, I would recommend this book to those over the age of 16 because the advice in the book requires maturity and commitment. This book is also suitable for those who are familiar with or would like to learn more about Hinduism and Buddhism.
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Happiness is All We Want!
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Happiness is All We Want! by Ashutosh Mishra is a self-help book that explores the steps one can take in order to achieve happiness. The book is separated into three parts which cover advice that the individual can use to improve themselves. The first part is about mental well-being, where the author draws parallels of the life of a monkey to ours due to its restlessness. The second part is about physical well-being, where a donkey is used as a metaphor to express the trap of unhealthy lifestyles. The last part is about spiritual well-being, which is likened to a flying horse to discuss the negligence of our soul. At the end of each chapter, the author provides a coherent list of things to ponder about and things to do based on what was discussed in the chapter.
In terms of positives, I enjoy reading about the author’s “Happiness Moment”, which is a short segment in some chapters for the author to share the little things in which he finds joy. It shows the author’s gratitude in life, which is contagious because it encourages me to do the same. The overall structure of the book also makes it easy to read with various other segments included in the chapters such as “TechTraps”, “Well-being Story” and “Practical Tip”. For the reader’s convenience, there is a summary of all the advice within the chapter labeled as “Smart Well-being Capsule (SWC)”.
Additionally, there is clever usage of metaphors whereby human behaviors are paralleled with animals to put emphasis on the message of the book. I find myself agreeing with a lot of the points stated in the book, especially about how external success is not equivalent to internal happiness. Putting less emphasis on material wealth aligns very closely with my personal beliefs as well. The short stories shared by real people in the book are also very inspiring to read about.
Despite my initial praises, there are still some negatives within the book. The first flaw is the shallow coverage of the topics. Most of the message just scratches the surface and encourages the reader to find out more information on their own. While this can be excused as a way for the book to remain compact and easy to read, it fails to deliver any sense of urgency or anything to fully convince the reader to transform their lifestyles. It is also slightly geared towards Hinduism and Buddhism which gets confusing for the average reader with no background information about these particular beliefs.
With all these things considered, I would rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars. The reason is that the book is motivational and easy to read if one is able to overlook minor spelling and grammatical errors. This book primarily acts as a nudge towards the right direction as the reader would have to put in the work to actually change their lives in order for the book to be effective. Therefore, I would recommend this book to those over the age of 16 because the advice in the book requires maturity and commitment. This book is also suitable for those who are familiar with or would like to learn more about Hinduism and Buddhism.
******
Happiness is All We Want!
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon