Happiness expert Sonja Lyubomirsky’s research-based lessons in how to find opportunity in life’s thorniest moments

In The Myths of Happiness , Sonja Lyubomirsky isolates the major turning points of adult life, looking to both achievements (marriage, children, professional satisfaction, wealth) and failures (singlehood, divorce, financial ruin, illness) to reveal that our misconceptions about the impact of such events is perhaps the greatest threat to our long-term well-being.

Lyubomirsky argues that we have been given false promises—myths that assure us that lifelong happiness will be attained once we hit the culturally confirmed markers of adult success. This restricted view of happiness works to discourage us from recognizing the upside of any negative life turn and blocks us from recognizing our own growth potential. Our outsized expectations transform natural rites of passage into emotional land mines and steer us to make toxic decisions, as The Myths of Happiness reveals.

Because we expect the best (or the worst) from life’s turning points, we shortsightedly place too much weight on our initial emotional responses. The Myths of Happiness empowers readers to look beyond their first response, sharing scientific evidence that often it is our mindset—not our circumstances—that matters. Central to these findings is the notion of hedonic adaptation, the fact that people are far more adaptable than they think. Even after a major life change—good or bad—we tend to return to our initial happiness level, forgetting what once made us elated or why we felt that life was so unbearable. The Myths of Happiness offers the perspective we need to make wiser choices, sharing how to slow the effects of this adaptation after a positive turn and find the way forward in a time of darkness.

In The Myths of Happiness , Sonja Lyubomirsky turns an empirical eye to the biggest, messiest moments, providing readers with the clear-eyed vision they need to build the healthiest, most satisfying life. A corrective course on happiness and a call to regard life’s twists and turns with a more open mind, The Myths of Happiness shares practical lessons with life-changing potential.

丈量幸福的梦想家

索尼娅•柳博米尔斯基

Sonja Lyubomirsky

 美国加州大学河滨分校心理学教授。她先后就读于两大世界顶级名校哈佛大学和斯坦福大学，师从著名社会心理学家、冲突和谈判领域顶级专家李•罗斯。

 积极心理学领域最具值得关注的心理学家。柳博米尔斯基关于幸福的研究成果丰硕，荣膺2002年度坦普顿（Templeton）积极心理学大奖，获得美国国家心理健康研究所特别资助。

 最受大众媒体欢迎的心理学者。柳博米尔斯基关于幸福的研究结论常成为大众媒体热议话题，《奥普拉脱口秀》、《纽约时报》、《时代周刊》、《华尔街日报》、《悦己》、《时尚》、《大观》、《商业周刊》、《卫报》、《波士顿环球报》、《经济学人》、《人物》、《新科学家》、《福布斯》等国际主流媒体争相报道。