The other side of happiness - Brock Bastian

'Pain is bad, right? In this fascinating book, Brock Bastian will
convince you otherwise. Drawing on both vivid everyday examples and
surprising laboratory findings, he shows how pain, suffering, and
struggle give us pleasure, make us kinder, focus our thoughts, and give
our life meaning'
Paul Bloom, author
of Against Empathy

In today's culture,
happiness has become the new marker of success, while hardships are
viewed as personal weaknesses, or problems to be fixed. We increasingly
try to eradicate pain through medication and by insulating ourselves
from risk and offence, despite being the safest generation to have ever
lived. Yet in his research, renowned social psychologist Brock Bastian
has found that suffering and sadness are neither antithetical to
happiness nor incidental to it: they are a necessary ingredient for
emotional well-being.

Drawing on psychology, neuroscience and internationally acclaimed findings from Bastian's own lab, The Other Side of Happiness
encourages us to take a more fearless approach to living. The most
thrilling moments of our lives are often balanced on a knife edge
between pleasure and pain, whether it is finding your true love, holding
your new-born for the first time, finishing a marathon or even plunging
into an icy sea. This is because pain and the threat of loss quite
literally increase our capacity for happiness, as Bastian reveals,
making us stronger, more resilient, more connected to other people and
more attuned to what truly matters. Pain even makes us more mindful,
since in our darkest moments we are especially focused and aware of the
world around us.

Our addiction to positivity and the pursuit of
pleasure is actually making us miserable. Brock Bastian shows that,
without some pain, we have no real way to achieve and appreciate the
kind of happiness that is true and transcendent.

'Brock Bastian skilfully
shatters the zeitgeist of positive
thinking, showing how struggle and
suffering are vital elements of a
life well lived'
Adam Grant, author of ORIGINALS and OBTION B with Sheryl Sandberg

'If
you're tired of all the simple minded books telling you to just cheer
up and be happy, this is the book for you!' Roy F. Baumeister, author
of
WILLPOWER: REDISCOVERING THEGREATEST HUMAN STRENGTH


'Explains
why hardship sometimes yields richer lives that are laden with
meaning,
deep social connections, and unexpected bliss. A beautifully
written
and important book that should be required reading for anyone
who's ever
wondered why well-being so oftenflourishes in unexpected
places' Adam
Alter, author of DRUNK TANK PINK