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The Joy Compass: Eight Ways to Find Lasting Happiness, Gratitude, and Optimism in the Present Moment
Do you long for the ability to live fully in the moment? Do you wish that you could transcend everyday worries, dissolve discontent, and find true happiness? If so, The Joy Compass is your guide.
Packed with tips and strategies for overriding the brain’s natural negativity bias, this practical pocket guide will teach you to recognize your negative moods as early as possible and refocus your attention toward the people, pleasures, and thoughts that bring you the most joy. Inside, you’ll find eight unique mindfulness pathways to align your personal happiness compass and keep joy within arm’s reach—no matter the situation. So get ready to reset your moods, release your laughter, and discover meaning and happiness right here, right now.
Packed with tips and strategies for overriding the brain’s natural negativity bias, this practical pocket guide will teach you to recognize your negative moods as early as possible and refocus your attention toward the people, pleasures, and thoughts that bring you the most joy. Inside, you’ll find eight unique mindfulness pathways to align your personal happiness compass and keep joy within arm’s reach—no matter the situation. So get ready to reset your moods, release your laughter, and discover meaning and happiness right here, right now.
- GenresNonfictionSelf Help
178 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2012
23 people are currently reading
169 people want to read
About the author
Donald Altman
44 books69 followersDonald Altman, M.A., LPC, is a psychotherapist, former Buddhist monk, international mindfulness expert, and award-winning author of over 15 books on spirituality and mindfulness translated worldwide.
Donald currently writes the Practical Mindfulness Blog for Psychology Today.
His book The Mindfulness Toolbox was Gold Award winner of two national book publishing IBPA awards in the Body-Mind-Spirit and Psychology categories. Two other books, Clearing Emotional Clutter and The Mindfulness Code were chosen by Spirituality and Practice as "On of the Best Spiritual Books" of 2016 and 2010, respectively.
Profiled in the Living Spiritual Teachers Project and featured as an expert in The Mindfulness Movie, Donald has been an adjunct professor at Portland State University's Interpersonal Neurobiology Certificate Program, as well as the Lewis and Clark College Graduate School of Education and Counseling.
Donald's new novel "Travelers" is a gripping mystical journey of spiritual awakening and initiation that takes place in a psychiatric hospital. Inspired by Kesey's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," Travelers is a story of overcoming loss to find hope, healing and renewal.
He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Donald currently writes the Practical Mindfulness Blog for Psychology Today.
His book The Mindfulness Toolbox was Gold Award winner of two national book publishing IBPA awards in the Body-Mind-Spirit and Psychology categories. Two other books, Clearing Emotional Clutter and The Mindfulness Code were chosen by Spirituality and Practice as "On of the Best Spiritual Books" of 2016 and 2010, respectively.
Profiled in the Living Spiritual Teachers Project and featured as an expert in The Mindfulness Movie, Donald has been an adjunct professor at Portland State University's Interpersonal Neurobiology Certificate Program, as well as the Lewis and Clark College Graduate School of Education and Counseling.
Donald's new novel "Travelers" is a gripping mystical journey of spiritual awakening and initiation that takes place in a psychiatric hospital. Inspired by Kesey's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," Travelers is a story of overcoming loss to find hope, healing and renewal.
He lives in Portland, Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 21, 2012
Donald Altman’s The Joy Compass: Eight Ways to Find Lasting Happiness, Gratitude and Optimism in the Present Moment from New Harbinger Publications shares knowledge and advice on how one can achieve more joy than strife in life. His book lays out the steps which are productive to rid one’s self of anger and make room for happiness to blossom.
The first step advises identifying negative emotions which enables one to take the next step which is to master intention. Altman purports, “Intention is a powerful tool for overcoming habits and even addictive behavior that keep you from finding joy.”
The third step is to practice belly breathing to calm one’s emotions projecting that “Breath is an ideal means of locating joy and peace in the moment.” Altman provides instructions for belly breathing which are similar to yoga breathing.
Steps four and five encourage one to allow laughter into one’s life and appreciate the kindness extended by others. The next step examines the power of forgiving oneself for not measuring up to expectations. This is one of the most relevant chapters in the book. Altman points to research and his own case studies to show how letting go of one’s inner critic gives one the license to feel comfortable experiencing joy. He also provides mental exercises to facilitate this objective.
Other studies cited in Altman’s book show how being altruist and charitable veers one’s compass to feel joy. The later portion of the book concentrates on dispensing advice such as replacing the word “should” with “could” in one’s vocabulary, and surfing through one’s body by means of meditation and becoming in-tune to one’s five senses to discover what plagues the body and prevents happiness to flourish.
The Joy Compass provides valuable information about cleansing one’s body of toxic emotions so joy can enter, although some kernels of advice are only applicable in an ideal world like performing acts of charity and altruism. There’s a reason why the old cliché “No good deed goes unpunished” continues to be relevant today. The Joy Compass is effective as a self-help book, but keep in mind, certain practices advocated by the author can only work in an ideal setting not necessarily the one the reader is living.
Relevant Websites:
www.mindfulnesscode.com
www.tcme.org
www.mindfulpractices.com
The first step advises identifying negative emotions which enables one to take the next step which is to master intention. Altman purports, “Intention is a powerful tool for overcoming habits and even addictive behavior that keep you from finding joy.”
The third step is to practice belly breathing to calm one’s emotions projecting that “Breath is an ideal means of locating joy and peace in the moment.” Altman provides instructions for belly breathing which are similar to yoga breathing.
Steps four and five encourage one to allow laughter into one’s life and appreciate the kindness extended by others. The next step examines the power of forgiving oneself for not measuring up to expectations. This is one of the most relevant chapters in the book. Altman points to research and his own case studies to show how letting go of one’s inner critic gives one the license to feel comfortable experiencing joy. He also provides mental exercises to facilitate this objective.
Other studies cited in Altman’s book show how being altruist and charitable veers one’s compass to feel joy. The later portion of the book concentrates on dispensing advice such as replacing the word “should” with “could” in one’s vocabulary, and surfing through one’s body by means of meditation and becoming in-tune to one’s five senses to discover what plagues the body and prevents happiness to flourish.
The Joy Compass provides valuable information about cleansing one’s body of toxic emotions so joy can enter, although some kernels of advice are only applicable in an ideal world like performing acts of charity and altruism. There’s a reason why the old cliché “No good deed goes unpunished” continues to be relevant today. The Joy Compass is effective as a self-help book, but keep in mind, certain practices advocated by the author can only work in an ideal setting not necessarily the one the reader is living.
Relevant Websites:
www.mindfulnesscode.com
www.tcme.org
www.mindfulpractices.com
July 22, 2013
When I picked up "The Joy Compass," I'll admit I really liked the idea behind the book, in which it treats happiness like orienting a compass in the direction one wishes to go. That's rather intuitive and quite cool. Donald Altman does a great job with the overarching narrative following this idea. I followed along with some of the breathing techniques, the journaling ideas, among other measures through the narrative and really appreciated the brief insight to them from a mindfulness approach. "The Joy Compass" is under 200 pages and definitely worth perusing for a variety of techniques. I wouldn't say it's a comprehensive guide, but it's one that draws attention to aspects in your own personal well-being, your relationships, and the smaller details to enhance the quality of your larger life. I appreciated the read and would recommend it.
Overall score: 3/5 stars
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher New Harbinger Publications.
Overall score: 3/5 stars
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher New Harbinger Publications.
December 14, 2024
This is a book that will take you time to read if done right. Read through once to see what it is all about. Then go back to page 1 and "Do" the book one practice at a time. Great Book! A Must Have for anyone's shelf if you are trying to find the balance in your life. Definitely on my "To Buy" list. Will be a great addition to the therapies I do with my Autistic child. I can see some of these "Practices" making a big impact.
December 11, 2021
Practical, but it's better if you buy and do the exercises as you go along. I checked out the book from the library so i didn't have time to do all the exercises
August 20, 2012
The Joy Compass is a book which can help you find lasting happiness, gratitude & optimism in the present moment. I’m going to kick this review off with a quote by Donald Altman.
“You will discover a valuable secret: that the joyful states of mind and well-being are not reserved only for the privileged few, but are available and accessible to all. Perhaps most important, being in a state of joy is a learned skill, not an innate ability. You can do this by using your personal joy compass: an internal, portable navigational guide activated through moment-to-moment awareness.”
This type of books are hard to review without giving a little peek into my mind and what I got out of this book.
There was only one thing I didn’t really like, so I’m going to say this right away and get over it. There were a lot of practice assignments with writing down things. In my opinion it was a bit overkill, and I’m one of those persons who loves to write stuff down. I even walk around with a paper organizer with all the things I have done, need to do, need to remember and could do. I’m not going to say ‘should do’ because I was using that waaaay too often. See? An important thing I learned from your book Mr. Altman. The ‘Puppy Mind’ was a wonderful practice. You didn’t need to write things down until after the assignment. I do understand why it is useful to see on paper how you think about yourself, and reflect on what you have written. Then compare what you wrote a week ago and what you wrote today. See if there is a pattern and try to break it if it’s not a good pattern.
Another practice I loved was ‘Centering with Nature’. It made me more aware of the beauty around me. It’s a simple practice which you can do anywhere, it mostly helped me when I was nervous for something or impatient while waiting. But it also made me aware of all the paper I used to make the lists for the practices. On the other hand I could have made those on the computer, my bad.
With one practice I was even a bit shocked, that was ‘Daily Time Spent with Others’. It’s a way to find out how isolated or connected you are. You have to track the amount of time you spend with technology, not interacting face to face with others. And let me tell you that I spend a lot of time with technology! It’s not that I’m really often alone but I’m kind of multitasking, not really giving someone else my full attention. I work in IT so it’s also necessary for me to be around technology a lot, and I wouldn’t be in the IT business if I didn’t love it. But I do put away my laptop/tablet/smartphone more often when I’m in company. The business won’t break down when I’m out having lunch, right?
I really liked this book it made me more aware of my emotions and thinking process. I’ll probably keep doing some of the practices. I always like to improve myself, be more comfortable in my skin, have more fun. And this book is a really good guideline. Some information was already familiar to me, the breathing, sensing the body and affirmation. But it was a refresher to read about these topics again. Definitely important if you aren’t familiar with these topics. I’m going to close this review with another quote by Donald Altman.
“Wherever life leads you, may your joy compass guide you to a place of greater peace, harmony, and joy.”
Note: I've received a free uncorrected proof copy from New Harbinger Publications via NetGalley.
“You will discover a valuable secret: that the joyful states of mind and well-being are not reserved only for the privileged few, but are available and accessible to all. Perhaps most important, being in a state of joy is a learned skill, not an innate ability. You can do this by using your personal joy compass: an internal, portable navigational guide activated through moment-to-moment awareness.”
This type of books are hard to review without giving a little peek into my mind and what I got out of this book.
There was only one thing I didn’t really like, so I’m going to say this right away and get over it. There were a lot of practice assignments with writing down things. In my opinion it was a bit overkill, and I’m one of those persons who loves to write stuff down. I even walk around with a paper organizer with all the things I have done, need to do, need to remember and could do. I’m not going to say ‘should do’ because I was using that waaaay too often. See? An important thing I learned from your book Mr. Altman. The ‘Puppy Mind’ was a wonderful practice. You didn’t need to write things down until after the assignment. I do understand why it is useful to see on paper how you think about yourself, and reflect on what you have written. Then compare what you wrote a week ago and what you wrote today. See if there is a pattern and try to break it if it’s not a good pattern.
Another practice I loved was ‘Centering with Nature’. It made me more aware of the beauty around me. It’s a simple practice which you can do anywhere, it mostly helped me when I was nervous for something or impatient while waiting. But it also made me aware of all the paper I used to make the lists for the practices. On the other hand I could have made those on the computer, my bad.
With one practice I was even a bit shocked, that was ‘Daily Time Spent with Others’. It’s a way to find out how isolated or connected you are. You have to track the amount of time you spend with technology, not interacting face to face with others. And let me tell you that I spend a lot of time with technology! It’s not that I’m really often alone but I’m kind of multitasking, not really giving someone else my full attention. I work in IT so it’s also necessary for me to be around technology a lot, and I wouldn’t be in the IT business if I didn’t love it. But I do put away my laptop/tablet/smartphone more often when I’m in company. The business won’t break down when I’m out having lunch, right?
I really liked this book it made me more aware of my emotions and thinking process. I’ll probably keep doing some of the practices. I always like to improve myself, be more comfortable in my skin, have more fun. And this book is a really good guideline. Some information was already familiar to me, the breathing, sensing the body and affirmation. But it was a refresher to read about these topics again. Definitely important if you aren’t familiar with these topics. I’m going to close this review with another quote by Donald Altman.
“Wherever life leads you, may your joy compass guide you to a place of greater peace, harmony, and joy.”
Note: I've received a free uncorrected proof copy from New Harbinger Publications via NetGalley.
November 20, 2013
Well, I won this book through the goodreads first-reads program.
The Joy Compass is a pocketsized book, a short easy guide towards creating a more relaxing and optimistic day to day life. The teachings are essentially an introduction to Buddhism, but the book does manage to not be overly spiritual in its presentation. The tidbits, while simple, are also rather helpful quick fixes towards easily relaxing and approaching life in a more together manner.
So, while not life-changing, this book is a good reminder to sit back every now and then and breathe. I can think of several people in my life who would benefit from slowing down once in a while. The diaphragmatic breathing method mentioned here is also something I could use more of in general.
In essence: decreasing stress is nearly always a good thing. ;)
The Joy Compass is a pocketsized book, a short easy guide towards creating a more relaxing and optimistic day to day life. The teachings are essentially an introduction to Buddhism, but the book does manage to not be overly spiritual in its presentation. The tidbits, while simple, are also rather helpful quick fixes towards easily relaxing and approaching life in a more together manner.
So, while not life-changing, this book is a good reminder to sit back every now and then and breathe. I can think of several people in my life who would benefit from slowing down once in a while. The diaphragmatic breathing method mentioned here is also something I could use more of in general.
In essence: decreasing stress is nearly always a good thing. ;)
August 29, 2016
This book offers helpful tips and reminders to take care of your own wellbeing. Although, the book is quite short, I found myself rereading pages to make sure I understood the exercises and explanations clearly. The Joy Compass, is not religious based, which I appreciated, as it does not alienate those who aren't religious themselves. While not every chapter may apply to your goals of finding joy or relaxation, this book offers at least one tip or exercise that will help every reader in some aspect for their day to day.
September 19, 2012
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Goodreads First Reads.
As a person who is always a work in progress, this short and to the point guide was a great refresher for me. A lot of the content I've encountered before, but how the book was arranged makes it very easy to walk away after having finished it and reapply what actions you need to take.
This book is a little gem and I am going to pass it on for someone else to enjoy.
As a person who is always a work in progress, this short and to the point guide was a great refresher for me. A lot of the content I've encountered before, but how the book was arranged makes it very easy to walk away after having finished it and reapply what actions you need to take.
This book is a little gem and I am going to pass it on for someone else to enjoy.
November 7, 2012
I received "The Joy Compass: Eight Ways to Find Lasting Happiness, Gratitude, and Optimism in the Present Moment" by Donald Altman as a free Goodreads First Reads giveaway. Mr. Altman's book will open your eyes with a simple plan to change your life's outlook. His plan may seem simple but applying them to your life can help you find the happiness and optimism that you once had.
October 14, 2012
Wow. I received this book through the giveaway, and read it. I think that this book is a good guide to not finding happiness but making your own happiness. The eight ways are pretty much just sitting back and reevaulated yourself. It helps you find happiness from within, and not from outside sources. I am definately going to implement these strageties.
August 29, 2012
I have to admit that I was not sure I was going to like this book, instead I really appreciate it and I even try to do a lot of the exercise written in it, which is, for me, really a lot!
So a remarkable read in my opinion.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND NEW HARBINGER PUBLICATIONS FOR THE PREVIEW
So a remarkable read in my opinion.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND NEW HARBINGER PUBLICATIONS FOR THE PREVIEW
September 24, 2012
Fantastic book! What a wonderful treaure! This book should be read, lived and then reread as a reminder of how to find peace, love, and joy in each and every day.
June 19, 2013
A lot of good advice, succinctly stated.
Read
April 29, 2015exciting
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews