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Joy is a Risk Worth Taking
Brief Description
What if joy isn't something you have to wait for, but something you can choose? In this paradigm-shifting book, psychologist Kelly McGonigal reveals that joy gives life meaning, sustains hope, and helps us feel close to others. It is the emotion that tells us: life is...
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See moreBased on her popular course at Stanford, bestselling author and renowned psychologist Kelly McGonigal offers a groundbreaking look at joy and how we can embrace it
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Description
What if joy isn't something you have to wait for, but something you can choose?
In this paradigm-shifting book, psychologist Kelly McGonigal reveals that joy gives life meaning, sustains hope, and helps us feel close to others. It is the emotion that tells us: life is worth living, good things are possible, and you are not alone.
And yet, many people find it difficult to allow themselves to feel, show, or even seek joy. Instead, we worry: Is it selfish to want joy? Is joy even possible when life is hard?
Weaving together personal storytelling with insights from psychology, neuroscience, and research conducted around the world, McGonigal offers tangible ways to experience this powerful emotion in everyday life. You'll discover:
- How joy works in the brain and body to provide relief
- How to create moments of meaning, connection, and celebration, in challenging times
- Why joy is a form of social support, and how to bring joy to others
- Strategies to counteract joy dampening that keeps us from enjoying good moments
- Tools to navigate common obstacles to joy, such as envy, guilt, anxiety, and grief
- 20 "joy experiments" you can begin implementing today
Motivating and uplifting, Joy Is a Risk Worth Taking shows that seeking and sharing joy is an act of courage and compassionβand one you can take even when life is difficult.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781035413720
Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 13 October 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Headline Press
Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Width: 153.0mm
Height: 234.0mm
Weight: 0g
Pages: 288
About the Author
Kelly McGonigal is the internationally bestselling author of The Joy of Movement, The Upside of Stress, and The Willpower Instinct, among others. Her TED Talk "How to Make Stress Your Friend" is one of the most viewed of all time, with over 30 million views. Her popular audio program 40 Days to Positive Change shows how to harness positive emotions to fuel personal growth. She co-created the Stanford Compassion Cultivation Training, a program now taught worldwide to deepen people's experience of empathy, self-compassion, and social connection.
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