Book Review: The Happiness Revolution

Today I’m on the book blog tour for The Happiness Revolution – A Manifesto for living your best life. This new thought-provoking and practical self help book is the collaboration of two experts in the field of mental ill-health Dr Andy Cope and Professor Paul McGee.

Book Cover Notes

Happiness. We chase it, we crave it…it’s so in demand… yet so scarce and fleeting.

But here’s the good news. In The Happiness Revolution: A Manifesto For Living Your Best Life, bestselling authors Dr Andy Cope and Professor Paul McGee deliver a page-turning self-help book of the times, for the times.

As the world wakes up to a new kind of normal, The Happiness Revolution challenges readers to sign up to an uprising of wellbeing and to making the most of the privilege of being on this planet.

The book outlines a 10-point Happiness Manifesto. Grounded in the science of human flourishing and the reality of life, the principles are simple, do-able and above all make a difference not only to yourself but to others too. Let the fight back to mental wealth start right here.

My thoughts

Within the first few pages of this book I was on board The Happiness Revolution. The book is split into three parts; Part 1 includes some pretty strong statements and statistics that really grabbed my attention. I was shocked to read the research findings on mental ill-health over the past three generations. The stats are truly staggering and when the World Health Organisation states that ‘depression is now the biggest, costliest and most debilitating disease in the world, we need to take it seriously and look at ways to support and help people who are suffering with this.

Thousands of people are living lives of screaming desperation where they work long hours at jobs they hate to enable them to buy things they don’t need to impress people they don’t like.’ [Nigel Marsh]

The authors have taken their research findings and years of experience in Psychology and flipped it on its head. Instead of studying people struggling with the illness they have searched out those people who are happy to find out more and learn from them. The result is a book that encourages the reader to take responsibility for their own well being.

In Part 2 of the book there are 10 pledges or ideas that we can all adopt, habits that are worth forming and promises we should make to ourselves. They are common sense but they aren’t common practice if the WHO stats are to be believed.

I am very grateful every day that I’m happy and healthy and able to live life to the full. However, I’m always eager to learn and I found some of the pledges really resonate with me. For example, pledge 2 talks about finding your why or your purpose. The authors ask questions like; why do you get up in the morning and why do you exist?

Like many people, during the 2020 pandemic my husband and I made the decision to leave our full-time corporate careers. I am really pleased about that decision, I’m loving life outside the office but with this new phase I do feel I need to find my new purpose. A new focus to get me out of bed in the morning.

We all need a sense of meaning and purpose to our lives, whether we’re aware of it or not.

The authors suggest;

• do what floats your boat
• follow your curiosity
• take note of what makes you angry
• develop your strengths
• pursue your passions

Apparently these are all signs pointing towards your purpose. I really liked this, there were further observations and recommendations in this chapter that were very thought-provoking and will help me explore and re-focus over the coming months.

At the end of each section of the 10 pledges there’s a useful summary box. These are prompts to help you plan and take action in whatever way fits with you. I have book marked these pages so that I can refer back to them as useful reminders as I work on my new why.

I really like the design and layout throughout the book. Most pages are interspersed with fun graphics, sunshine yellow standout quotes as well as boxes with exercises or thinking challenges for you to do. The short, punchy writing makes it easy to read, I found myself jumping in and out of the book during the day. I would recommend having a notebook handy so that you can make notes, have a go at the exercises and capture your thoughts and any actions.

The inner critic is always there. You can’t turn it off, but you can turn it down.

At times I did find the book a little over the top cheesy. The authors are clearly experts and passionate about the subject matter but in trying to use humorous anecdotes it came across a little cheesy. There is no denying both authors are passionate and trying to motivate the reader to get off their butt and take responsibility for their own lives. I much preferred it when they were direct and hard hitting with their writing rather than the jokey approach. But for some readers that might work well for them. Hey as long as they get on board and take action that’s all that matters.

The collaboration ofDr Andy Cope and Professor Paul McGee has worked really well. The writing styles compliment each other and most of the time I didn’t know who was writing what, which made for easy reading as it just flowed well. They appear to make a great team.

Summary

A light hearted, high energy self help book. Full of great advice, backed up by lots of stories and examples to help you learn and feel motivated to get started. Viva la revolution. 🙂

My favourite quote, this should be the NHS strapline:

One way to support our beloved NHS is to become less reliant on it. Improve our diet and exercise, take responsibility’.

This is so true. For those who enjoy non fiction self help books and maybe looking for motivation this autumn/winter grab yourself a copy of this book and join the Happiness Revolution.

Where to buy

Amazon UK / Book Depository

Further book info

• Published Date: 10th June 2021
• Publisher: Capstone
• Page Count: 272

About The Authors

DR ANDY COPE is the UK’s first ever Dr of Happiness. He has a passion for motivation and positive psychology and strives to influence people to think differently. He founded Art of Brilliance in 2004 to blaze a new trail – one that was non-academic, totally rooted in the real world and that would make a massive and immediate impact on individuals and organisations. Andy is a sought-after keynote speaker, bestselling author, and authority on happiness, motivation, and human flourishing.

PROF PAUL MCGEE is a visiting professor at the University of Chester and is one of Europe’s leading speakers on the subject of change, resilience, wellbeing, and communication. His book SUMO became a Sunday Times best seller and his book on Self Confidence reached number one in the WHSmith’s business chart and remained there for a further 24 weeks. His books have sold over a quarter of a million copies worldwide. He has appeared on BBC Breakfast television and is a regular contributor on BBC Radio.

He has had the privilege of working with one of the world’s top management gurus the late Dr Stephen Covey and his work has been endorsed by Sir Clive Woodward. Chris Evans described Paul’s book ‘How Not to Worry’ as “a gift to the world.” His clients include prominent blue chip organisations, public sector bodies and a leading Premier League football club.

He combines his love of comedy and football by supporting Wigan Athletic and Bradford City.

Where To Find Online

Twitter: @TheSumoGuy | @beingbrilliant

I hope you’ve enjoyed my book review of The Happiness Revolution by Dr Andy Cope and Prof Paul McGee. You can find more of the authors’ books such as:

How to Be a Well Being: Unofficial Rules to Live Every Day

Uncertainty, instability, pressure, anxiety and now pandemic pandemonium . . . the world is hell bent on robbing us of our wellbeing. It’s time to fight back.

Twenty-Two Rules for Life that Just work

It’s time to ditch the tired, old wisdom, and take life into your own hands. We’ve all fallen for the mantra that ‘you only live once,’ but it’s a big fat lie. The truth is that you get to live – really LIVE – every single day of your life. 

More books by Dr Andy Cope

Yesss!: The SUMO Secrets to Being a Positive, Confident Teenager

Uncovers the secrets of overcoming the challenges and also embracing the opportunities of one of life’s most difficult stages: the teenage years.

YESSS! is full of vibrant, exciting advice that will motivate and equip readers to overcome the insecurities and confusion that can often characterize our teenage years.

Sunday Times bestselling author and speaker, Paul McGee aka The SUMO Guy, shows teenagers (and the people who both care for and support them) how to harness practical strategies.

Perfect for every teenager and all those involved in supporting them, YESSS! shows young people what it’s like to live with confidence, resilience, hope, and happiness.

More books by Prof Paul McGee

Blog Tour Organised by

Random Things Tours

Thanks to Anne @randomttours for inviting me on the tour and thanks also to Capstone and the authors for me copy of the book for an honest review.

More Book Reviews like this from Touring Tales:

The Power Hour by Adrienne Herbert – From the popular podcast Power Hour comes a book about making the most of the first hour of your day, to pursue your passion and achieve success.

365 Days of Gratitude Journal by Marielle S. Smith – Being grateful is easy… when everything goes according to plan. But how do you keep at it no matter what life throws at you? Enter 365 Days of Gratitude, the undated daily journal that will help you stay on track.

Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll – Creator of the enormously popular Bullet Journal organisational system, Ryder Carroll explains how to use his method to: Track your past, Order your present, Plan your future