100 Books Like 10% Happier

I read this book as part of my Search Inside Yourself (SIY) facilitator training when I worked at Google and later taught. I love this book because it’s full of science-based research on the power of mindfulness. I personally love all of Rick’s books and hosted him on my podcast, The Pausecast podcast (Ep. 17), where he blends his psychology and mindfulness expertise into easy and relatable concepts.

This book stuck out to me because Hanson shares how great teachers like Jesus, Moses, Mohammed, Gandhi, and the Buddha all had brains built essentially like anyone else's, yet they were able to harness their thoughts and shape their patterns of thinking in ways that changed history. I was inspired by their stories and also saw how I could model my own thinking in ways that better serve me and the world. 

As his students, me included, call him, Tal is a remarkable teacher. His compact book of one hundred and sixty-nine pages is filled with valuable and applicable knowledge on being happier.

He draws a lot from his young life as an athlete and into adult life as a Harvard professor, along with his wellbeing research. His book is set up in three parts: defining happiness, applying happiness, and meditations on happiness. Tal uses “time-in” to have readers stop and reflect on a question relevant to the reading material, which helps one better consider the material more thoughtfully.

The other thing about Tal as a teacher is his approach. It aligns greatly with my ideas about happiness, hence why I study his work. He, more specifically in his happiness studies program, fosters cultivating one's "wholebeing." A term I was already using when I came across his teachings. For me, happiness is… show more.

Marci Shimoff’s book was my first happiness book on my inner journey. Reading it excited and inspired me and it now sits on my bookshelf crammed with bookmarks and worn pages.

I think of Happy for No Reason as a happiness encyclopedia filled with so much usable knowledge. Marci also became my first mentor through her “Year of Miracles” online group. She is so generous with her wisdom and encouraging to others – this is a woman who walks her talk. I will forever be grateful for her initial inspiration.

This book is based on the science of Positive Psychology, not just helpful tips from someone nice.

Since 1980, lots of serious research has been done on what behaviours and mindsets really make people happy – and the results are all here, in this clear, well-presented book. I dip back into this book regularly.

Susan is an old friend but also one of the original teachers of mindfulness for kids, and both books offer a range of practices, theory and research. Mindful Games is exactly what it sounds like, and exactly what many of us want in teaching mindfulness to kids- fun, simple, exercises for all ages that teach her “ABC’s” of Acceptance, Balance, and Compassion.

I love this book. It was the book I used years ago to learn how to do Mindful Meditation which transformed my way of being and enabled me to become a better person and a better learner.

Mindful Meditation taught me how to have a Quiet Mind so I could really listen to others and learn from others. I started out doing Mindful Meditation 3-5 minutes a day. It was hard. But I kept at it improving to 10 minutes then to 20 minutes then to 30 -40 minutes a day.

I learned how to be still and fully present. It helped me build better relationships with others. It is a key building block for Inner Peace.

I love Susan Bogel’s straightforward path to mindfulness for parents and children. She has the mind of a scientist and it shows, but writes the heart of a teacher or therapist. Her book and writing are incredibly clear, as well as impeccably organized. The activities and scripts are engaging and precise, and the program is easy to follow.

It’s hard for me to explain just how important this book has been in Western culture. Part autobiography, part meditation manual, this book is what popularized the modern mindfulness movement, beginning with Jon’s first forays into teaching ‘secularized’ mindfulness practices in the basement of a medical school building in the late 1970s.

Rather than staying in that basement, Jon’s combination of scientific training, deep commitment to understanding the mechanisms of the mental joy and suffering, and passion for helping others came together to create one of the first and most influential Western meditation training programs: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. This program has been the foundation for decades of scientific research as western culture as come to appreciate the importance of training ourselves for mental health and wellness.

This book is the story of that program, it takes you firsthand through the rationale and practices that have helped so many people, acting… show more.

I was profoundly inspired by this book because it masterfully blends ancient wisdom with contemporary insights on yoga and meditation. I love how Stanley guides readers toward inner peace and spiritual awakening through both accessible and profound techniques.

The book’s focus on deep self-care practices really resonated with me, helping me to cultivate a more balanced and luminous life. Stanley’s approach made it easy for me to deepen my meditation practice while embracing the transformative power of self-care. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking to enrich their spiritual journey and achieve a harmonious, vibrant life.

I love this book and reread it often.

Why? Because it reassures me that I’m not alone in searching for greater peace of mind. Jon Kabat-Zinn combines stories from Buddhism and his own practice with humor and words of encouragement to remind me that it is up to me to wake up from the mindless rush of compulsive planning, worry, regret, and resentment that too often cycles through my mind like the voices on a talk radio station.

He also reminds me to be kind to myself, not to fall into shame or self-accusations, because mindfulness is an ongoing practice to become more centered, aware, and balanced.

I smile when I catch myself drifting away from being mindfully present, take a deep breath, and return to the here and now. And this process continues in my formal meditation practice each morning and my ongoing attempts to be more mindfully aware… show more.