Happiness Book Club 1: Succeed
Vanessa King, positive psychology expert at Action for Happiness, recommends a book every month to improve our happiness levels
By 
Psychologies
Happiness doesn’t just happen – it comes from planning and pursuing things that are important to us. Research shows that setting and working towards goals can contribute to happiness.
I love Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals by Heidi Grant Halvorson (Plume, £11.99) – it’s a great book to kick off your Happiness Book Club in 2016. One of the main ideas of the book is focusing on getting better rather than expecting to be brilliant straight away. Many of us believe that our intelligence, personality, and physical aptitudes are fixed; that no matter what we do, we won’t improve.
Research suggests that the belief in fixed ability is wrong; abilities of all kinds are profoundly malleable.
People whose goals are about getting better take difficulty in their stride, and appreciate the journey as much as the destination.
3 QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS THIS MONTH
Create your own Club at psychologies.co.uk/get-your-happiness-club-started
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Photograph: Corbis
