 Parenting by the Book
by Sylvia Cochran
 HAPPY FOR NO REASON: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out
Marci Shimoff, Carol Kline
Simon & Schuster
January 2008
Self Help
http://www.happyfornoreason.com
ISBN: 141654772X
HAPPY FOR NO REASON is penned by Marci Shimoff. You probably know her name from the widely popular "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series (Carol Kline was a co-author on five of them). In addition to being a bestselling author, Marci Shimoff is also a founder of the Transformational Leadership Council.
HAPPY FOR NO REASON is the quintessential self help book that tries to make you a happier person. It seeks to reinforce what most of us know on an intellectual level (but fail to get down on a heart level): money cannot buy you happiness; giving away everything and living in scarcity will not earn you contentment; overall happiness in your life cannot be built on relationships, achievements, education, or attainment of goals.
In a seven step approach, the authors discuss habits designed to increase personal happiness and also the areas of the life - relationships, purpose, body, personal power, and others - that are directly connected to and affected by them. Sprinkled throughout the book are first hand accounts of those who believe to have achieved happiness that comes from the inside and is independent of external stimuli.
HAPPY FOR NO REASON asks the intriguing question "what would it take to make you happy?" It is written from a down to earth approach that eschews psychological terminology, findings, and studies in favor of testimonials and cause and effect scenarios. This, of course, makes this a very readable book.
The main premise of the book is an invitation to revamp your way of thinking. Having ruled out that external goods can cause happiness, the focus is turned inward, and from there it is a short step to suggesting that faulty thought processes cause a lot of the unhappiness and perceived discontent. That said, it also features a number of easy to perform steps and exercises that are designed to help a mind change to take place.
HAPPY FOR NO REASON is an intriguing read for the Christian parent who finds that s/he is mired deeper in the material world than is good for comfort. The title may be off-putting because of its simplicity, but behind it hides the fact that being happy - truly happy - is not brain surgery or rocket science, but a very simple process that anyone, anywhere, at any time can engage in.
The Bible teaches to "be joyful always." This book underscores this teaching, albeit with non biblical anecdotes and examples. Even as I do not usually recommend self help books, this one is a winner.
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 Sylvia Cochran - Christian Parenting Corner and Common Sense Parenting
Sylvia is a seasoned freelance writer, born and raised in Germany. Having been exposed to a variety of religions and traditions due to travel and study, Sylvia has been a student of the Bible for more than ten years, and has for the last four years taught in small groups about Biblical principles, practical Christianity, Christian parenting, as well as the spiritual use of money. Sylvia also provides Free Online Christian Parenting Courses at Suite 101.
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