be Happy

Tout est beau et rose dans la vie de Poppy, jeune institutrice. Elle prend des cours de conduite avec un acariâtre aux antipodes de sa joie de vivre : choc des mentalités et des visions du monde assuré ! Elle prend aussi des cours de flamenco avec une prof déjantée, elle prend des cuites entre amies, elle prend la vie systématiquement du bon côté. Du coup, elle en devient « subversive », « perturbatrice » et « aguicheuse » pour ceux qui ne peuvent partager autant de fraîcheur et de fantaisie : sa sœur enceinte qui exige que tout le monde envie son état, un libraire qui fait hermétiquement la gueule, etc. Un jour, Poppy rencontre Tim, dans son travail, avec qui elle se sent tout de suite sur la même longueur d'ondes. Une fable sur nos rapports au monde et aux autres.

You are about to become obsolete. You think you are special, unique, and that whatever it is that you are doing is impossible to replace. You are wrong. As we speak, millions of algorithms created by computer scientists are frantically running on servers all over the world, with one sole purpose: do whatever humans can do, but better.

Be Happy! is the follow-up to Robert Holden’s best-selling Happiness NOW! In this book, Robert gives you a front-row seat on his 8-week happiness program—famously tested by independent scientists for the BBC-TV documentary called How to Be Happy.

Thirty years old and single, Poppy (née Pauline) Cross shares a London flat with her best friend Zoe. When her bicycle is stolen, Poppy decides to take driving lessons for the first time in her life. Her driving instructor, Scott, is emotionally repressed, plagued with anger problems, and given to conspiracy theories, racism, and misogyny. His student's bubbly personality and apparent lack of responsibility initially annoy him, but as the lessons progress he develops an attraction towards her which she does not return. Poppy is devoted to her students, but her life isn't dominated by her vocation. She takes flamenco lessons and a trampoline class, and she and her younger sister and friends enjoy an occasional evening in the local pub. She seemingly has no fear of strangers, taking the time to interact with a slightly crazed homeless man while on the way home one night. When one of Poppy's pupils begins bullying his classmates, social worker Tim is brought in to handle the boy's case, and before long the two begin dating.

The #100HappyDays challenge—Can you be happy for 100 days in a row?—is a viral online movement that has had more than 8 million participants since its launch in 2013. Those who have completed the challenge have found that spending 100 days intentionally finding or creating a happy moment each day—whether through trying something new or just seeing their daily life in a new way—added up to long-lasting feelings of optimism, gratitude, and satisfaction that far exceeded the sums of their parts.