Life in Three Dimensions
How Curiosity, Exploration and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
'New insights into the many ways to live well' Jonathan Haidt
'Shigehiro Oishi [has] discovered a neglected third dimension of the good life ... lively and insightful' Adam Grant
A groundbreaking new understanding of happiness to help us build a fuller, more authentic life.
We all want a good life. But do the simple, predictable pleasures we call happiness lead to complacency and regret? Does a life of purpose invite narrow or misplaced loyalties?
Now, one of our foremost psychologists Shigehiro Oishi proposes a new way to live. Psychological richness is a concept that prioritizes curiosity, exploration and a variety of experiences. These can be as simple as taking a walk, or as complex as moving to a new country, causing a shift in perspective that helps us grow.
Weaving his own story with those of people like Steve Jobs, Oliver Sacks and Alison Gopnik, and original research from fields ranging from moral philosophy, literature, culture, neuroscience, personality and psychology, Oishi shows how to deepen and better our existence through psychological richness.
'A delightful guide to the importance of filling your days with more curiosity, exploration and richness' Laurie Santos
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A fulfilling life means embracing uncertainty, unpredictability, and adversity, according to this energetic guide from psychologist Oishi (The Psychological Wealth of Nations). Critiquing the idea that life should be measured exclusively by happiness (which fluctuates according to things beyond a person's control) or meaning (which can promote an unhelpful single-mindedness), Oishi argues that accumulating positive and negative experiences builds "psychological richness," which adds depth to one's life by broadening their emotional and intellectual horizons. Readers can live such a life by embracing challenges, learning new things, and being spontaneous (examples of the latter range from taking a detour on the way home to having an unexpected encounter with a stranger). While the many case studies of people who've lived psychologically rich lives—among them Steve Jobs, economist Daniel Kahneman, and a taxi driver who donated a kidney to her ex husband—give the narrative a somewhat repetitive feel, Oishi lucidly explains his research and maintains an appealingly upbeat tone throughout. It's a worthwhile reminder to take the road less traveled.
