Audiobook Review – Habits For Happiness

Title: Habits For Happiness

Author: Dr. Tim Sharp

Genre: Non Fiction/ Self Help

Goodreads Rating: 3.57

My Rating: 4*

Source: Audiobook

Synopsis:

How do we get happy? Listen to a positive, step-by-step guide on the building blocks for personal happiness by Dr Tim Sharp (aka Dr Happy).
Through ten daily habits, this series provides the learnings and practical strategies for creating a happier life.
Dr Tim Sharp is a clinical and consulting psychologist with three degrees in psychology and a distinguished career over several decades. He’s Australia’s very own “Dr Happy” and the founder of The Happiness Institute.

My Review:

Let me first start by saying that in general I am a happy person. I look at my glass as half full and will generally work through anything bad in my life and overcome it. So why am I getting tips for a happier life? In all honesty it’s because it was free on Audible and I thought what have I got to lose by listening to it? Why not break out of my reading comfort zone and see if I learn something from a different genre? I’m pleased to say that I did.

Dr Happy has got the perfect voice for an audiobook. He is really easy to listen to and he puts his own personality into what he is saying. I didn’t find him patronising or boring at any stage I actually found him motivating.

Habits for Happiness is 10 daily steps to lead happier life. Each episode goes through these steps in detail and Dr Happy gives you several ways to integrate them into your life. You also hear from other people who have followed through with these steps. I found this quite helpful as I often related to one of those people so it enabled me to see where I could make a change in my life.

At first glance the steps all seemed straight forward and none of them were things I hadn’t thought of before but the way they were explained gave them a whole new meaning. I actually realised that whilst I am happy most of the time there are things I can do to make my life even more fulfilling. Don’t worry I’m not going to go into each microscopic detail but I will outline the ten steps and what I am doing to make my life better.

Create a Vision Board – Don’t worry I’m not getting the glue and glitter out just yet! I have made a note of some happiness goals on my phone to remind me of what I want to get out of my best possible life.
FInd a Way to Win – I have set myself some SMART goals and currently working my way towards them.
Just Laugh – This sounds so silly but I realised that I don’t plan enough fun in my life. That is about to change.
Face Your Fears – This one is a toughy as I’m not sure what my fear is or at least one that I can face.
Exercise or Just Dance – As I am training for the London Moonwalk I think I’ve got this covered.
Sleep Your Way to the Top – I am cutting out caffeine after 6pm (this will got to 4pm one I’ve got used to it) and I am staying off my phone after 8pm every night. I am hoping that this will give me better quality sleep. I’m also making sure I take the opportunity to rest when I can.
Ask For Help – I’ve always felt that if you decide to have children then they are your responsibility to bring up, not your siblings or your parents. My husband and I have made sure that we look after the boys between us but in doing so we’ve run ourselves dry. Now I’m not saying that every weekend the boys are going to stay at nanny’s so we can get a night off or that they are going to spend the working week in a nursery because I love being with my boys and being their mum. However we’ve decided to make some more time for us and leave the boys with other people every now and again.
Give Some Help – I loved this episode and have since made an effort to do kinder things. Its a great feeling especially when the person receiving the kindness doesn’t expect it.
Focus on What’s Going Right – I think a lot of people struggle with this and I have to admit that at times I do. I will always try to be optimistic but we all have our bad days.
Forgive Others (and yourself) – The toughest step of them all, after all we are our own worst critic but it’s a necessary step to live our happiest life.

Like I said nothing that I didn’t know already but I feel like I’ve taken a lot from it. Have you ever listened to this audible original? What would your happiest life look like?