How to Live a Good Life: Soulful Stories, Surprising Science, and Practical Wisdom

by Jonathan Fields

"Seriously. another book that tells you how to live a good life? Don't we have enough of those? You'd think so. Yet, more people than ever are walking through life disconnected, disengaged, dissatisfied, mired in regret, declining health, and a near maniacal state of gut-wrenching autopilot busyness. Whatever is out there isn't getting through. We don't know who to trust. We don't know what's real and what's fantasy. We don't know how and where to begin and we don't want to wade through another minute of advice that gives us hope, then saps our time and leaves us empty. How to Live a Good Life is your antidote; a practical and provocative modern-day manual for the pursuit of a life well lived. No need for blind faith or surrender of intelligence; everything you'll discover is immediately actionable and subject to validation through your own experience. Drawn from the intersection of science, spirituality, and the author's years-long quest to learn at the feet of masters from nearly every tradition and walk of life, this book offers a simple yet powerful model, the "Good Life Buckets"--spend 30 days filling your buckets and reclaiming your life. Each day will bring a new, practical yet powerful idea, along with a specific exploration designed to rekindle deep, loving, and compassionate relationships; cultivate vitality, radiance, and graceful ease; and leave you feeling lit up by the way you contribute to the world, like you're doing the work you were put on the planet to do. How to Live a Good Life is not just a book to be read; it's a path to possibility, to be walked, then lived"--

• ISBN10: 1401948413
• ISBN13: 9781401948412
• Publish Date: 18 October 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Hay House
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 256
• Language: English

Reviews

[Hillary]

Yes, I read ANOTHER book on how to live the best life possible. Can you tell that I am obsessed? Ha, I was browsing on Hoopla when I saw this and liked the sound of it, so I downloaded it.

This book was a bit different in a way that everything was set up into “buckets.”  I wish I had thought of that myself.  We all have empty buckets and to be happier(er) we need to keep each bucket filled. This was also refreshing in that he does not promise instant results. He wants you to each for 30 days to get maximum results.

 I gleaned a few ideas from this book. I thought I had read it all before, but this book had some ideas that I never thought of.   I have to admit that I am more of a desire mapper than a bucket person, so I incorporated it into my desire map for 2017. I am not sure of the results though I haven’t tried it long enough to make a judgment on any of them.

Reading this book made me realize how much I have neglected my personal life in building my writing. When I sat down, I realized that I had lost touch with a lot of friends. Everyone is always talking about a work life balance but what is that? I mean it takes hours to do some stuff, and there is always so much to do, and by the time I feel like I can finally call it a day I am exhausted. HOWEVER, I fully realize that even introverted Bitches such as me need friends so I have made more of a real effort to maintain and reconnect with people. Am I happier for it? Who knows? It has only been a couple of months since I actively started to do it so I can’t say at this point.

This is a good book but to be honest I am getting sort of overloaded with books on how to be happy and all of that. I think I will always struggle with depression somewhat and I need to accept that. I have an amazing life at the moment, and I am very happy.  I can’t help but feel like I am missing something, though. I feel like when Gretchen Rubin said in The Happiness Project that there has to be more than this. She had an amazing life but yet…..I am reminded of when C.S Lewis stated that maybe that wretched longing we feel is because we are not made for this world. Maybe that's it. Maybe the feeling is not depression or anything but rather the longing that has been talked about and idolized to death that all Christians feel because they are not meant for this world. Danielle Laport even talks about it in The Desire Map. She writes to a Buddhist monk about the issue, and the monk tells her the longing is normal, but we must not be hung up on the outcome.

So reading book after book about how to improve my life and happiness probably is not gonna do a damn thing. Will I stop reading them? No, But I am not gonna read ten books in a row about the topic.  I am craving real honest to God stories, so That is where I am going for 2017. More stories and fewer books on how to be rich and happy and all of that. I am ALREADY as happy as I am going to get so I am gonna live my amazing life and not worry about it.

 This review was originally posted on Adventures in Never Never Land