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Title details for Seriously HAPPY by Ben Aldridge - Wait list

Seriously HAPPY

10 life-changing philosophy lessons from Stoicism to Zen to supercharge your mindset

by Ben Aldridge
Ben Aldridge
Audiobook
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Seriously Happy is a highly practical self-help guide exploring 10 life-changing lessons based on teachings of the ancient philosophers.

YA readers are encouraged to discover how Stoicism can improve your mental resilience; the calming, meditative influence of Zen; the decision-making prowess of Aristotle or the confidence-boosting ideas of the Cynic philosophers.

As a young man, author Ben Aldridge struggled with debilitating anxiety and self-doubt, until he discovered Stoicism and other philosophies which helped him restore balance, peace and contentment in his life. In this book, Ben shares over 20 practical challenges rooted in ancient philosophy that will power up your focus and confidence, improve your critical thinking, build mental resilience, and embrace happiness.

The challenges are based on ancient philosophical ideas – such as 'shame attacking', facing your fears, and appreciating the small things in life – as well as the ancient arts of Tai-Chi, Qi-Gong and meditation. Seriously Happy shows how to harness the power of ancient philosophies to deal with the real-world stress and anxieties of today.

  • Learn to master a growth mindset and face your fears with fun tasks and challenges such as 'the banana walk', inspired by Cynic philosophers.
  • Get curious, question everything, and power up your critical thinking like Socrates.
  • Learn how to make good life choices inspired by Aristotle'sGolden Mean.
  • Train your mind and embrace discomfort with cold-water therapy or digital fasting like Buddhist teachers.
  • Increase your mental resilience by keeping a setback diary like the Stoics.
  • Power up your focus & concentration with a walking meditation inspired by Zen philosophy.
  • Protect your wellbeing by practising Tai Chi and being in nature like the Taoists.


    • Be calm, be confident, and be (seriously) happy!

    • Creators

    • Publisher

    • Release date

      September 3, 2024

    • Formats

      • OverDrive Listen audiobook

        • ISBN: 9780711297838
        • File size: 115445 KB
        • Duration: 04:00:30

    • Languages

      • English

    • Reviews

      • Booklist

        September 1, 2024
        Grades 7-12 Anxiety continues to plague teens today, but Aldridge offers tips to counter this mental state through nontraditional beliefs and exercises. After explaining his own once-debilitating anxiety and how he overcame it, the author draws inspiration from several ancient philosophies, from Buddhism and Taoism to Aristotle and the Stoics. He opens each of the 10 chapters with a short life story about his mental health and healing as a way to introduce a particular philosophy, its core leaders, and how it can be used to retrain one's thoughts and build a growth mindset. Each chapter concludes with specific exercises meant to stretch, but ultimately strengthen, readers' comfort levels. For instance, the chapter on Zen promotes meditation, while the chapter on the Cynics (who believed in preparing for life's challenges) encourages teens to go out of their comfort zone and take a banana for a walk (or something similarly slightly embarrassing) to build confidence. In addition to these real-world takes on ancient practices, readers will appreciate that modern and women philosophers are included.

        COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

      • Kirkus

        August 15, 2024
        A self-help guide to happiness that strives to make philosophy relevant to modern teens. Aldridge mines the lessons of ancient Greek and Asian philosophy for wisdom, describing wisdom that's focused not on boundless euphoria but on eudaemonia, or "living a good life," which is achieved through honing resilience and character, embracing balance, and accepting life's vicissitudes. Along the way, he explores Zen, Cynicism, Socratism, Taoism, Stoicism, Aristotelianism, and Buddhism, showing how these philosophies can help improve critical thinking, well-being, decision-making, resilience, self-discipline, and relationships. Anecdotes explain how these ideas helped Aldridge deal with his own severe anxiety. Each chapter concludes with challenges: for example, the Banana Walk, a therapeutic exercise created by Albert Ellis (who was inspired by Diogenes), which involves walking a banana tied to a piece of string in public as a way of becoming desensitized to fears of judgment. Unfortunately, perhaps due to the impossibility of accurately condensing multiple complex schools of thought in such a short space, the book often oversimplifies philosophical lessons in ways that misrepresent the underlying concepts and promote stereotypes. For example, Taoism feels reduced to spending time in nature, learning to go with the flow, and heeding your gut instinct (a "subtle art that is often neglected in Western culture"). Despite these weaknesses, the book's overall message--that happiness might best be found in moderation and restraint--is instructive and conveyed in an accessible, conversational style. A well-intentioned but underwhelming mishmash of philosophical tidbits and stereotypes. (reading recommendations, resources)(Nonfiction. 12-18)

        COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

    subjects

    Languages

    • English

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