The Laughing Guide to Change: Using Humor and Science to Master Your Behaviors, Emotions, and Thoughts

by Ora Prilleltensky, Isaac Prilleltensky

Overview

The motto of this book is smarter through laughter. The Laughing Guide to Change combines humor and science to make you happier and healthier. To improve your well-being you need to master your behaviors, emotions and thoughts. These are important drivers of change that can be learned and practiced every day. To reinforce the learning, the scientific part of each chapter is followed by funny stories. In the Behaviors chapter you will learn how to set a goal and create positive habits. In the Emotions chapter you will study the secrets of cultivating positive emotions and managing negative emotions. After reading the Thoughts chapter you will be able to master the art of challenging negative assumptions and writing a new story about yourself. The Laughing Guide to Change is a user friendly manual for tackling different aspects of well-being, from psychological to interpersonal to physical well-being. If you are interested in improving your personal, family, or occupational life, this book is for you. The book will motivate you to take action through a series of achievable steps. The humor will keep you entertained, while the science will keep you engaged.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781475825763
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	01/21/2019
Pages:	98
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.56(d)

About the Author

Ora Prilleltensky earned her doctorate in counseling psychology at OISE at the University of Toronto and has taught at Victoria University in Australia, Vanderbilt University and the University of Miami. She has also practiced in university counseling centers, schools, and rehabilitation settings in Canada and Australia.

Isaac Prilleltensky is the former dean of the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Miami, where he is currently professor of educational and psychological studies and vice provost for institutional culture. He is the author of ten books and the recipient of awards by the National Newspaper Association for his humor writing; and from the divisions of community and counseling psychology from the American Psychological Association for his scholarly work.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1- Drivers of Change
The Learning Side
Changing Naturally
The Laughing Side
Neurotic Life
Male Emotional Brain Found In Garage
Existential Worries
Chapter 2- Behaviors
The Learning Side
Set a Goal
Create Positive Habits
The Laughing Side
Change: Pros and Cons
Happier, Healthier, Wealthier, Sexier
If You Can Do It, You Can Overdo It.
Chapter 3- Emotions
The Learning Side
Cultivate Positive Emotions
Manage Negative Emotions
The Laughing Side
Love Often, Laugh Often
Messianic Times
Chapter 4- Thoughts
The Learning Side
Challenge Negative Assumptions
Write a New Story
The Laughing Side
Catastrophizers and Minimizers
Miami, it’s Ok; I’m Still Here
Notes
About the Authors

Editorial Reviews

The Prilleltenskys have authored a highly engaging, down-to-earth, research-informed volume on how to enhance the quality of your life. If you follow their advice – and you should – you will also enhance the lives of those around you. And did I mention that The Laughing Guide to Change is funny? It is, often in laugh-out-loud fashion (though the Miami Chamber of Commerce might not agree). By the time I finished this book I very much wanted to meet Isaac and Ora in person; their story exemplifies the psychological resilience they write about.

Michael Morris

Can you have your cake and eat it too? Probably not. Can you gain muscles without some experience of pain? I doubt it. Can you significantly and positively change your life while having fun doing it? Most definitely yes. Read this Laughing Guide and learn how you can enjoy every step of the way to lasting change. Be warned, though, that muscle pain (and gain) in your stomach due to excessive laughter may ensue as you read this book. Be warned, too, that for your personal health as well as the hygiene of those around you, you should not have cake in your mouth while reading this book.

Tal Ben Shahar

We hear a lot about setting “SMART” goals to achieve desired change in our lives but not nearly enough about how to pursue them wisely—until now. The Laughing Guide to Change teaches that, on the path to meaningful change, identifying specific, measurable goals is just the beginning. Don’t let the light-hearted title fool you: While the book filled with stories that made me chuckle and reminds us not to take ourselves so seriously, it also is packed with science-backed strategies that embrace the holistic framework needed to achieve our dreams. Through science and stories, Isaac and Ora Prilleltensky show us how our emotions, habits of thoughts, relationships, and environmental cues strongly influence our behavior and support or undermine our well-being. The book expertly weaves solid research with practical advice to help move us from wishing for a better life to finally achieving it. I’ve already begun using some of the book’s strategies and recommend it to anyone trying to change their lives for the better (and who isn’t?)!

Anne M. Brafford

Ora and Isaac Prilleltensky have found an innovative way to merge cognitive and behavioral transformation with humor. The Laughing Guide to Change introduces scientific methods of controlling your mental and physical responses when doing something differently, yet the language is hardly dry. The authors add a twist to the self-help book by incorporating serious fun throughout.

Forbes

I laughed by myself, I laughed with myself, I laughed at myself - the Prilleltenskys gave me great insights and great laughs. This is how learning should be. I highly recommend this book, as a gift to yourself and those you love - and maybe even some people you don't like, because you might get to like them after they read this book and laugh more.

Fathali M. Moghaddam