The Happiness Purpose (book by de Bono)
The new 'religion' proposed in this book is based on the belief that the legitimate purpose of life is happiness and the best foundation for happiness is self-importance.
The happiness purpose is to be achieved through the use of thinking and humour and dignity. The ideal of love is to be replaced by the more reliable practice of respect. The new 'religion' may be used as a framework or as a philosophy. It may be used as a way of living or as a way of looking at things. It may be used on its own or in conjunction with any other religion.
Lucid, entertaining and provocative as always. Edward de Bono presents his blueprint for the disciplined pursuit of happiness, which, in his opinion, is the legitimate purpose of life.
Self-respect, dignity, self-importance and humour occupy an important place in his scheme, and in this practical manual the famous exponent of 'lateral thinking' shows you how to utilise these assets as tools for mental and spiritual betterment.
Based on thinking concepts including lateral thinking, here is a framework you can use to develop what the London Sunday Times calls "a sensible plan for living happily." Following the precept that the legitimate purpose of life is happiness, this book is a practical manual for those who would like to pursue the "happiness purpose."
The above is taken from http://www.edwdebono.com/debono/hp.htm.
I like the book's list of some of the ingredients or types of happiness with examples and comments (the following is my own summary):
- Pleasure. From food, drink, friends, physical exercise, achievement, humour, etc. There's a risk of overdose, which is like when a child eats all the pretty red and sweet iron pills it finds in the bathroom cabinet and suffers the serious iron poisoning.
- Excitement. Creates boredom afterwards.
- Enthusiasm
- Joy: No risk of overdose.
- Interest: The most durable, dependable and permanent source of happiness.
- Relief: Short-lasting (always?).
- Peace
Directing your attention to certain things makes you happier, but letting your attention flow to (get pulled by or drift to) certain things makes you less happy.
The happiness purpose is to be achieved through the use of thinking and humour and dignity. The ideal of love is to be replaced by the more reliable practice of respect. The new 'religion' may be used as a framework or as a philosophy. It may be used as a way of living or as a way of looking at things. It may be used on its own or in conjunction with any other religion.
Lucid, entertaining and provocative as always. Edward de Bono presents his blueprint for the disciplined pursuit of happiness, which, in his opinion, is the legitimate purpose of life.
Self-respect, dignity, self-importance and humour occupy an important place in his scheme, and in this practical manual the famous exponent of 'lateral thinking' shows you how to utilise these assets as tools for mental and spiritual betterment.
Based on thinking concepts including lateral thinking, here is a framework you can use to develop what the London Sunday Times calls "a sensible plan for living happily." Following the precept that the legitimate purpose of life is happiness, this book is a practical manual for those who would like to pursue the "happiness purpose."
The above is taken from http://www.edwdebono.com/debono/hp.htm.
I like the book's list of some of the ingredients or types of happiness with examples and comments (the following is my own summary):
- Pleasure. From food, drink, friends, physical exercise, achievement, humour, etc. There's a risk of overdose, which is like when a child eats all the pretty red and sweet iron pills it finds in the bathroom cabinet and suffers the serious iron poisoning.
- Excitement. Creates boredom afterwards.
- Enthusiasm
- Joy: No risk of overdose.
- Interest: The most durable, dependable and permanent source of happiness.
- Relief: Short-lasting (always?).
- Peace
Directing your attention to certain things makes you happier, but letting your attention flow to (get pulled by or drift to) certain things makes you less happy.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Andy on -
'Achievement is setting out to do something and doing it' (de Bono). I guess the achievement can be as small as 'walking' or 'setting out to do a PMI' and as big as winning the Nobel prize or becoming a president. Many small achievements add up to the size of a single big achievement. Does the quote refer to doing something because you want to, as opposed to doing things by habit, automatically, unconsciously (in dr. de Bonos terminology: just be happening to follow a pattern (of action) such as 'breathing')?
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Permalink Reply by Andy on
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Even if you decide to do something but finish it too late, you have the achievement of performance even if not the achievement of destination (since the destination was 'to do it on time').
Kim Jones said:... if you have made the decision to do something then anything that delays or prevents you from doing that thing is circumstantial i.e. tangential to the goal of the decision. If anything that crops up AFTER you have said "Go!" modifies your timeline to achievement, that just means life is throwing obstacles at you and success can still be achieved.
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Permalink Reply by Andy on
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When do you decide to do something without wanting to do this something? When you're thirsty you may decide to look for water and drink it. You wouldn't look for water because you 'want to' if there was an easier way.
Dr. de Bono says that, in the end, after the thinking has been done, all decisions are based on emotions. That should mean even decisions to set out to do something.
Kim Jones said:Ideally one would 'want to' achieve something. Perhaps achievement without desire is possible. However, E would doubtless argue that the mental decision to do something should not necessarily depend too heavily on the emotions. This is because emotions are like icebergs; the greater part is inaccessible, being heavily invested in things like environment, health, brain chemistry, general attitude etc.
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Permalink Reply by Andy on
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Immediately when you see the blue car, you do some involuntary thinking. The emotions that follow may be that you want to buy it. However, when you have done some deliberate thinking, you may come to take new things into account. This broader perception may show that the red car will deliver your values to a fuller extent. If so, the emotions that follow now will be different from before: you won't want to buy the blue car anymore.
Kim Jones said:Ideally emotions should support thinking or follow it. This turns out to be next to impossible though. You can go through the most elaborate analytical contortions in sorting through the best type of vehicle to purchase for your needs and the truth is, you will probably still go for the blue one, or the one with the fat mag wheels, or the reversing camera. Why? Because even though we plan "objectively", our feelings still seem to win through in the end, because they channel our all-important values. Hopefully our feelings and our thinking are in agreement.
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Permalink Reply by Franis on -
It's always fascinating to compare what people have to say on the same subject. There are many people that have written on happiness.
In 2008, an interesting book came out called "The How of Happiness" by Sonja Lyubomirsky. Unlike most other people who write about happiness, she didn't base her ideas on her own preferences, stories and inspirations. She compiled and reported the results from various scientific studies.
She talks about it in the book how some of these roads to happiness are not her "cup of tea." But she acknowledges such things as religious certainty to be a great source of happiness for many people. This pathway does not match her own scientific background and because of it, she would never suggest it...but the studies are clear about advantages. There you go.
It's a fascinating book. Useful too - because she suggests a number of happiness exercises and suggests that if you like some of them, specific others are related.
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Permalink Reply by Philip Tuuta on -
I like this book too and have often got it out of the library. I like the chapter on the setting up Network at the end of the book. I hope to get my own copy although I understand it is out of print. A good second hand copy will be fine.
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