152
arts&culture
GOOD READ New Year resolutions often involve change. Lauren Molyneux reviews a book that helps the reader put change into practice and reinforces self-belief
The Happiness Recipe Rebecca C Morrison ‘We are born to be happy. Somewhere along the way, our lives get cluttered.’ Rebecca C Morrison’s view on happiness is quite simple on the face of things – spend more time doing the things you enjoy, the things that truly make you happy and bring you fulfilment, and less time on the rest. If your initial reaction is that that’s all well and good, but easier said than done, you’re exactly where I was when I first picked up this book. Having previously worked for a large litigation firm in the US, being forced to balance 20-hour days with being a mother and a wife, Rebecca C Morrison has plenty of experience with feeling overwhelmed. After recognising that the path she had taken in life had almost been decided for her, with her career choices dictated by the ‘shoulds’ and ‘have-tos’ of other people’s expectations, she decided to take action, addressing each aspect of her life to determine which was most important to her. And once she’d identified her core priority and the gaps which were preventing her from spending her valuable time, energy and resources on it, the initial ideas for The Happiness Recipe began to form. This book is for the overachiever, the worrier, the person who has reached a crossroads in their life and isn’t quite sure which way to go, or even which way is up. It’s for those on the brink of a new season in their life, for those who find themselves constantly wondering if they’re doing enough, for those who find themselves defined by what they do, for those who look to do more so that they can be more. It’s for those who let perfectionism take the driving seat in any project they’re working on and for those being pulled in several different directions. It’s for those needing to refocus their priorities in life, for those stuck in a cycle of overworking and burnouts, for those who feel true happiness has, for the most part, eluded them. Rebecca C Morrison offers a handy little toolkit for acknowledging and engaging with anxiety, guilt and any other tricky emotions you may have been facing, providing pragmatic solutions to help you regather, refocus, review and refine your outlook. Drawing upon her experience as a litigator, mother, daughter, wife, and life coach, Morrison provides practical advice, often linked with case studies involving her own clients, which are frighteningly relatable, to implement a process which can broadly be broken down into three core parts. Firstly, her guide focuses on helping you to identify the aspects of your life which matter most to you – not as straightforward a task as it first appears. Secondly, she aims to help with recognising the habits, people and responsibilities that have been preventing you from spending your time and energy on the things that matter. And thirdly, she provides practical tools to help with reinforcing the belief in yourself that your goal – whether that’s to achieve a promotion at work, find more time for creativity, get fitter, or be a more present parent – is achievable. The Happiness Recipe does not provide all of the answers, nor does it claim to, but I have found it to be a valuable read – one which provides the training wheels, helping you to put into practice new processes, which will lead to more priorityaligned living.
