Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence

Written by Rick Hanson

Narrated by Rick Hanson

Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence shows you how to tap the hidden power of everyday experiences to change your brain and your life for the better.

This bias evolved to help ancient animals survive, but today it makes us feel needlessly frazzled, worried, irritated, lonely, inadequate, and blue. Instead, in just a few seconds at a time in the flow of daily life, you can turn your experiences - the pleasure in a cup of coffee, the accomplishment in finishing a tricky email, the warmth from a friend's smile - into lasting inner strengths built into your brain, such as resilience, balance, and positive emotions.

Grounded in neuroscience, Hardwiring Happiness is super-practical, full of easy-to-use methods and guided practices to grow a steady well-being, self-worth, and inner peace. And it has special sections on children, motivation, relationships, trauma, and spiritual practice.

The program also covers managing the Stone Age brain for life in the 21st century. It tells you how to take in experiences of your core needs being met, so that you gradually leave the "red zone" of fight-flight-freeze stress and get centered in the brain's "green zone" in which you feel an ongoing ease, fulfillment, and love - even while you deal with life's challenges.

A Better Listen audio production.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Better Listen
• Release date: Jul 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781615448685

Rick Hanson

Rick Hanson, PhD, is a psychologist, a senior fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and a New York Times bestselling author. His books are available in 26 languages and include Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Buddha’s Brain, Just One Thing, and Mother Nurture. He edits the Wise Brain Bulletin and has numerous audio programs. A summa cum laude graduate of UCLA and founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, he’s been an invited speaker at NASA, Oxford, Stanford, Harvard, and other major universities, and has taught in meditation centers worldwide. Dr. Hanson has been a trustee of Saybrook University and has served on the board of Spirit Rock Meditation Center. His work has been featured on the BBC, CBS, and NPR, and he offers the free Just One Thing newsletter with 135,000 subscribers, plus the online Foundations of Well-Being program in positive neuroplasticity that anyone with financial need can do for free. He enjoys rock climbing and taking a break from emails. He and his wife have two adult children.  

Reviews for Hardwiring Happiness

[Līva Kalpiņa · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Interesting to listen to, but I wanted to hear the book, not just a seminar

[Francisco Arauz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic book! Rick Hanson provides insightful teachings of the Buddha in a very calm and relaxing voice.

[Charlie Lee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Rick Hanson is very informative and easy to follow. He talks about ways to build relationships with your children while keeping them safe. In other words, striving for a good balance.

[Joe Kehoe · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

literally not the book, some random recording that might be related?