Beyond Happiness: How to find lasting meaning and joy in all that you have by Anthony Seldon
Beyond Happiness offers a powerful and totally original thesis. It argues that while the happiness industry is right to prioritise happiness, and to draw attention to scientifically proven ways of enhancing happiness, it is categorically wrong in making us believe that happiness and flourishing are the be-all and end-all of life. This original and powerful book explains why pleasure-seeking, nor indeed 'happiness', should be enough. We all have a deep need to search for something more profound within ourselves, and discover the unique meaning and purpose of our lives. This book will show you how.
Anthony Seldon distinguishes with admirable clarity the differences between pleasure, happiness and joy, and offers an original 8-step approach, on how to make our lives happier. He argues that the pursuit of happiness can easily become a trap, as can religion and inertia, and we need to reach beyond these if we are to access the deepest levels of human experience open to us, and to find our own unique path in life. The author offers a further 5 steps, which point the way to accessing these deeper levels of experience, which result in a life of joy.