Ever read something that has a profound effect on your thinking? I’ve almost finished Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill, by Mattieu Ricard and it is a must-read book.

Ricard is a Buddhist monk, but the book is not about Buddhism. It is about defining what happiness is, why we struggle with it so much, and what to do about it. He blends his personal experiences with scientific data.

In my own life experiences, I’ve found false happiness and true happiness. We all want things and everyone is familiar with the “you’ll never have enough” cliche. Ricard dives into these concepts and dissects them to help one understand true happiness.

There is no step by step guide to determining what you should do to achieve true happiness. The book gives you plenty of things to contemplate and advice on how to start though.

After reading this book, I plan to buy his others. For those of you who travel quite a bit, its a “read and return” book found in the Paradies shops in various airports. I won’t return this one though.