Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out

In Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out, transformational expert Marci Shimoff offers a breakthrough approach to being happy, one that doesn't depend on achievements, goals, money, relationships, or anything else "out there." Most books on happiness tell you to find the things that make you happy and do more of them. Although there's nothing wrong with that, it won't bring you the kind of deep and lasting happiness most people long for — the kind you'll never lose, no matter what happens in your life. Based on cutting-edge research and knowledge from the world's leading experts in the fields of positive psychology and neurophysiology, plus interviews with 100 truly happy people, this life-changing book provides a powerful, proven 7-step program that will enable you to be happier right now — no matter where you start.

Studies show that each of us has a "happiness setpoint" — a fixed range of happiness we tend to return to throughout our life — that's approximately 50 percent genetic and 50 percent learned. In the same way you'd crank up the thermostat to get comfortable on a chilly day, you can actually raise your happiness set-point! The holistic 7-step program at the heart of Happy for No Reason encompasses Happiness Habits for all areas of life: personal power, mind, heart, body, soul, purpose, and relationships.

In these pages you'll discover moving and remarkable first-person stories of people who have applied these steps to their own lives and have become Happy for No Reason. You'll read phenomenal tales from a former drug dealer turned minister, a hit filmmaker, and a famous actress who escaped a "family curse," as well as stories from doctors, mothers, teachers, and business executives. You'll learn practical strategies that will help you experience happiness from the inside out.

You don't have to have happy genes, win the lottery, or lose twenty pounds. By the time you finish this book, you will know how to experience sustained happiness for the rest of your life.

PART I: HAPPINESS THAT'S HERE TO STAY
Introduction: Welcome to a Happier Life
Chapter 1: Happy for No Reason...Really?
Chapter 2: Practicing Happiness

PART II: BUILDING YOUR HOME FOR HAPPINESS
Chapter 3: The Foundation — Take Ownership of Your Happiness

• Focus on the Situation

• Look for the Lesson and the Gift

• Make Peace with Yourself

• Question Your Thoughts

• Go Beyond the Mind and Let Go

• Incline Your Mind Toward Joy

• Focus on Gratitude

• Practice Forgiveness

• Spread Lovingkindness

• Nourish Your Body

• Energize Your Body

• Tune In to Your Body's Wisdom

• Invite Connection to Your Higher Power

• Listen to Your Inner Voice

• Trust Life's Unfolding

• Find Your Passion

• Follow the Inspiration of the Moment

• Contribute to Something Greater Than Yourself

• Tend to Your Relationships

• Surround Yourself with Support

• See the World as Your Family

PART III: HAPPY FOR NO REASON EVER AFTER
Chapter 10: The Happy for No Reason Plan for Life

Recommended Resources
Acknowledgments
Giving Back
About Marci Shimoff
About Carol Kline
Biographies of the Happy 100 Whose Stories Appear in Happy for No Reason
Permissions