Cathleen Conroy

Human Relations
4/29/14

The Art of Happiness by Dali Lama

My book report is on The Art of Happiness by the Dali Lama and Howard C. Cutler,
M.D. This book was written by the Dali Lama one of the worlds leading Buddhist scholars
including the perspective of psychiatrist Howard C. Cutler. Dr. Cutler represents the current
scientific views and the Dali Lama is representing the Buddhist understanding of happiness, the
mental health and human well- being. I enjoyed reading this book I could relate to some of the
things, especially how the Dali Lama expresses that true happiness doesnt consist of having
material things, being wealthy, etc. He states being truly happy is being content with life also seeing
the positives in any situation, and how you respond to a given situation is a factor as well.
While reading this book I found various ways concepts in the book connect to the
textbook concepts and topics such as: The book emphasis how scientific studies have proven that
the benefits of happiness extend to the workplace, which means happy individuals perform better.
Further research has shown that organizations with happy employees are more successful,
demonstrating greater profitability. The employees are more loyal to the company, take fewer sick
days, show up to work more consistently, have fewer conflicts with workers, quit their jobs less
frequently, and they generate greater customer satisfaction.
The book states that individuals who are happy are proven to be healthier, have better
immune function, mental health, greater resilience, and they have an increased capacity to deal
with adversity and trauma. This relates to the textbook in so many ways in that these are all positive
factors in having good Human Relation skills in the workplace. This also relates to my life and
career goals such as being resilient, having good mental health and good immune function is vital,
with being able to attend work. Also being resilient is a positive trait to have especially with your
Cathleen Conroy
Human Relations
4/29/14

career because things are always going to be evolving, and that is a plus to be able to adapt to the
changes whether they are positive or negative.
By having good communication and coping skills this helps with being more open minded
with situations in the workplace and in general. The book relates to the textbook by stating having
high self- esteem, being motivated, and having a positive attitude are all things needed to be
successful in life and in the workplace. In contrast the book points out that scientists have
discovered individuals who lack the ability to have good communication skills and social ties are
proven to suffer from poor health, higher levels of unhappiness, and greater levels of stress.
The skills I have learned from this book include training of the mind which is the inner
transformation by deliberately selecting and focusing on positive mental states and then challenging
negative mental states. Our brains are adaptable in the sense that neuroscientists have documented
the fact that the brain can design new patterns, new combinations of nerve cells and
neurotransmitters (which are chemicals that transmit messages between nerve cells) in response to
new input. Therefore it is possible to change ones frame of mind or behavior.
Ways I plan to implement these things into my life are by using this technique and
training my mind to work on having patience and better tolerance. How I plan to do this is while
I stand in line wherever it may be, and each time stay a little longer in the line. By doing this
repeatedly over time I will eventually have better patience and tolerance. There are other steps to
this technique of training of the mind and establishing new habits they include determination,
effort, and time. This technique does not show changes overnight it is a process that takes time and
practice.
Cathleen Conroy
Human Relations
4/29/14

Other skills I learned from the book were techniques on how to reduce my stress level
doing so by exercising regularly. The book states that you should deal with stress not as a negative
situation but rather see it as how you can grow from it or see the positives from the stressful
situation, this compares to the textbook because both of the stress management strategies are
similar.
For example, they both have exercise, meditation and also forming close relationships with
others as strategies. The book describes a study done at the University of Nebraska School of
Medicine that was conducted on how close relationships promote health, in this study it was
proven that having close relationships with others does in fact promote ones health, such as
greater immune function and lower cholesterol levels
These skills relate to not only my life but also my future career goals: in that you need to
have good communication skills when going into the medical field and in general. Also knowing
how to properly manage everyday life stressors, and being patient is important also, such as when
you have an irate patient in my case or a customer, you need to be calm and follow the conflict
resolution process.
By using these skills I learned I will implement some of these techniques in my life and
future career. One very important technique I plan to use is training of the mind. After I achieve
this and eventually change my external behavior the next step would be to overcome any bad
habits with an overall change in my attitude. Experiments have proven that repeatedly engaging in a
positive behavior can eventually bring an actual internal change. This is my overall goal to being
genuinely happy to follow the steps.