The Blue Zones of Happiness: Lessons From the World's Happiest People

An interesting book for those who love politics, understanding better how a country can make better political decision to make its people happier - yet not much of the book content can be applied. A good book to earn knowledge.

Loved it , ideas for my environment and myself , most valuable lesson : always thought happiness was all inside but seeing how much our surroundings nudge ya into happiness has made me want to impulse that change!

Oh, how I wish I had read this (and the prior books on Blue Zones) a few months earlier. I was struggling to help a friend achieve even a small bit of happiness. Having read the book, it now seems completely obvious what I should have told her, and how I could have helped her. So many answers in the book. So many actions that a person can take.

I looooove it .It’s literally my new bible 2020

A National Geographic cover story hooked me into this book, and happiness is my beat anyway, so there really was no avoiding this one. The central idea: if you set up a framework for a more satisfying life, you’re more likely to have one.Pleasure, purpose, pride: these are the three intertwining strands constituting the robust rope of happiness. The Danes, perennially at the top of world happiness surveys, have a lot of their basic needs met by their generous government services. Danes also have a strong community ethos, so they join lots of clubs and engage in purposeful activities. Costa Ricans, who may have an even stronger community ethos, have lives full of pleasurable moments or “positive affect”: walking to work, joking with friends, playing with their kids. Singaporeans work 60hr weeks to get the 5 C’s: car, condominium, cash, credit card, and club membership. They take pride in their accomplishments, and that supposedly makes them happy. Although the description of their harried, materialistic, cramped lives seemed the antipodes of happiness, I'll take Buettner's word for it.What I really appreciate about Buettner’s work is his thoroughness. He goes into the field with a bunch of scientists, gathers the data, crunches the numbers, and presents us with the best practices. That’s why this book led me to his first Blue Zones book, on longevity, which I consider definitive. He’s also clear-eyed on the benefits of positive psychology: “They may work in the short run, but they almost always fail over time. They’re quick fixes that may evaporate before you know it.” To be happy in the long run, structure a happy life.I read this book in a day and highlighted 240 passages. It’s fantastic, and should be required reading for all bipeds. As a bonus, the appendix has a collection of Top 10 happiness practices from top experts for individuals and countries.-- Ali Binazir, M.D., M.Phil., Happiness Engineer and author of  The Tao of Dating: The Smart Woman's Guide to Being Absolutely Irresistible , the highest-rated dating book on Amazon for 4 years, and  Should I Go to Medical School?: An Irreverent Guide to the Pros and Cons of a Career in MedicineThe Tao of Dating: The Smart Woman's Guide to Being Absolutely IrresistibleShould I Go to Medical School?: An Irreverent Guide to the Pros and Cons of a Career in Medicine