Friday, July 1, 2016

"The Happiness of Pursuit" Review

I don't think it's any secret that I'm big on setting goals and making to do lists, so when I got the chance to review The Happiness of Pursuit, I figured it'd be right up my alley.  I first came across Chris Guillebeau years ago, in an article about how to hack credit card reward miles to get the most bang for your buck.  I thought the dude was hardcore, but later I read about his quest to visit every country in the world and I kind of got why he's so intense about hacking his rewards miles. 

My rating: 4/5

This book delves into the benefits of having a big goal in your life.  It gives lots of real life examples about people who have set big goals for themselves and how rewarding it is to accomplish them.  Some of them, liking walking from one end of the United States to the other or running 250 marathons in a single year seemed impractical to me.  I thought that's great, but I can't really quit my job, and leave my family to take on some big quest.  But then I read about a lady who decided to cook a meal from each country of the world, focusing on one country each week, or a guy who read the entire set of Encyclopedia Britannica.  That's more my speed.  But, why?  Why take on some big quest?

Chris points out how having a long term goal can keep you from falling into the rut of the status quo life, how it's good to push yourself out of your comfort zone, and how tackling smaller goals gives a sense of accomplishment, and how you'll experience personal growth.  But Chris isn't all sunshine and rainbows.  He also discusses how sometimes your goals change and need to be reworked or the reason you want to accomplish something big may change, or your family and friends may not understand, or how if you DO accomplish a big goal you may feel overwhelmed or at a loss of what to do next.

So, while I don't have any big ideas for a quest, all the stories from people who undertook big dreams did motivate me to at least create a to do list of things I want to accomplish before I die and keep my eyes open for a challenge that appeals to me and has meaning.  What about you?  Do you have any big, long term goals?

I received this book for free, in exchange for an honest review from Blogging for Books.

2 comments:

  1. I am not big on goals or resolutions because they so often end in failure. It makes me feel undisciplined but in reality I think I just get bored after a while and the resolution slips away.

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    1. I hear you! I always used to let my resolutions slide by mid January, although I've gotten better now.

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