Hacker News Books

Outliers, definitely the freakenomics books, I enjoyed Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Lean Startup, Power of Habit, Defining Decade (if your in your 20's, fantastic book), The Happiness Advantage, Great by Choice from Jim collins...

I'd recommend The Happiness Advantage. Really changed my outlook on life for the positive.

Author also did a TED talk on the subject called "The Happy Secret To Better Work".

http://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_bet...

http://www.amazon.com/The-Happiness-Advantage-Principles-Per...

Currently reading 2 books - Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer; The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor

If you like 59 seconds I'd also recommend the Happiness Advantage. Also based on scientific results and studies:

http://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Advantage-Principles-Psychol...

Dr. Bik Kwoon Tye could be a poster child for Dr. Seligman's work in the field of positive psychology! This story reminds me so much of a book I just finished reading: The Happiness Advantage.

"Conventional wisdom holds that if we work hard we will be more successful, and if we are more successful, then we’ll be happy. If we can just find that great job, win that next promotion, lose those five pounds, happiness will follow. But recent discoveries in the field of positive psychology have shown that this formula is actually backward: Happiness fuels success, not the other way around."

> They are lightweight overviews of interesting insights, appealing to many people (enough so that some expend energy loudly criticizing the works), and providing launching points for those so motivated to further pursue the subject

What use is an overview if it's wrong?

Here's an example of the problem:

(http://www.social-consciousness.com/2013/10/ten-simple-thing...)

This blog got posted to HN. The first point in the post says:

> Exercise has such a profound effect on our happiness and well-being that it's actually been proven to be an effective strategy for overcoming depression. In a study cited in Shawn Achor's book, The Happiness Advantage, three groups of patients treated their depression with either medication, exercise, or a combination of the two. The results of this study really surprised me. Although all three groups experienced similar improvements in their happiness levels to begin with, the follow up assessments proved to be radically different:

A blog cites a pop sci book, which cites a single study. And this is "proof" of a treatment for depression. It feels like it should be true. it repeats something that many people say ("exercise helps depression") and it has some sciencey stuff to support it (endorphins!). It's not homoeopathy or crystal healing.

The main problem is that it is not clear if exercise works for treating depression.

http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD004366/exercise-for-depressi...

> Exercise is moderately more effective than no therapy for reducing symptoms of depression.

[...]

> The reviewers also note that when only high-quality studies were included, the difference between exercise and no therapy is less conclusive.

People do not investigate further. They repeat these factoids and they believe they're promoting science.

Yeah, not to judge a book by it's cover, but everything about "The Secret" screams new-agey superstitious bullshit (redundant?). Positive psychology does seem to have some common sense things going for it (ie, if you think something is impossible, it probably is, for you), but there are better books out there (cf "The Happiness Advantage" by Shawn Achor; he also did a TED talk that sums up some of the themes nicely: http://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_bet...)

I'm about to leave soon, so I'll make it quick:

In a previous post I already lauded the book "The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work"[1].

The book is based on scientific results.

In the chapter "The 20 second rule" the author talks about the "activation energy" required to start a task and recommends reducing it as much as possible. Every 20 seconds (hence the title of the chapter) removed between you sitting on the couch and starting what you wanted to start makes a difference.

I have a nice pullup bar hanging from the wall that's staring at me and every other day I follow the simplefit[2]
program. Have been following it for weeks now. "Activition energy" being so low... even when I dread doing sport (yes, there are such days) I tell myself it's at most 20 minutes and I can start right away so the pullup bar is looking at me with a face and I shrug and do it. My energy and endurance has increased noticably.

Gotta run now (not to the gym hyuk hyuk), I'll be happy to answer any questions tomorrow.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Advantage-Principles-Psychol...
[2] http://simplefit.org

I had a similar problem and the only way I could get myself going was by getting a schedule and sticking to it. I only allow myself a certain amount of time a day to do the things I consider unproductive and thats it. Of course it's good to have balance and allow yourself time to just waste it can be become a problem and in my case it did.

Try starting small. At least an hour today of no wasting time on unproductive activities. Then increase gradually.

Might also be a good idea to add obstacles to these activities such as hiding the icon for your browser in five different folders before you can open it, deleting the facebook app on your smartphone, or even packing away you video game consoles. While a completely different theme, a book called the happiness advantage has a chapter on adding obstacles to nudge yourself in the right direction.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Happiness-Advantage-Principles-Per...

I've almost finished reading "The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work".[1]

It's based on scientific results, so it's not yet another esoteric self-help book.

Now, back to your question:
If you expect it to suck, it will suck. The author explains with princile #2 (the fulcrum and the lever) how this negative priming turns this into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Now, it might be, that the particular job simply stinks, but usually you can find something positive and just thinking about that shortly before will make that negative feeling go away. My explanation might make it seem simple and useless but I can't possibly replace all the valuable advice from the book. And it works. Give it a shot.

It's a very good read and I recommend it very highly.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Advantage-Principles-Psychol...