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The Joy of Appreciative Living: Your 28-Day Plan to Greater Happiness in 3 Incredibly Easy Steps
Based on a national “joy study,” here is a workshop leader’s 28-day blueprint to greater happiness broken down into three remarkable steps .
Is it possible to study what creates joy in our lives—and to break down the results into a believable, achievable program for inner fulfillment? Mechanical engineer, corporate manager, and motivational coach Jacqueline Kelm discovered that the answer is yes—and she shares her results in The Joy of Appreciative Living .
One day while preparing for a speech before a local spiritual community, Kelm experienced a breakthrough. She found a simple way of integrating all the principles of positive-thinking philosophies into three basic exercises. These three steps to lasting, meaningful joy require less than five minutes a day, plus fifteen minutes on the weekends. Her workshop audiences were astounded.
Realizing that she was onto something, Kelm designed a study to see how these exercises would work for different kinds of people. Using a cross section of adults around the United States, Kelm’s “joy study” showed that after twenty-eight days, 97 percent of participants assessed themselves to be significantly happier. Even more remarkable, participants in the study continued to feel happier even six months afterward.
Just three exercises in twenty-eight days? It sounds so simple because author Jacqueline Kelm makes it simple. The book will highlight exactly how and why these exercises work. The Joy of Appreciative Living transforms complexity, insight, and years of trial into one focused, high-powered program of daily practice that can make all the difference in your world.
Is it possible to study what creates joy in our lives—and to break down the results into a believable, achievable program for inner fulfillment? Mechanical engineer, corporate manager, and motivational coach Jacqueline Kelm discovered that the answer is yes—and she shares her results in The Joy of Appreciative Living .
One day while preparing for a speech before a local spiritual community, Kelm experienced a breakthrough. She found a simple way of integrating all the principles of positive-thinking philosophies into three basic exercises. These three steps to lasting, meaningful joy require less than five minutes a day, plus fifteen minutes on the weekends. Her workshop audiences were astounded.
Realizing that she was onto something, Kelm designed a study to see how these exercises would work for different kinds of people. Using a cross section of adults around the United States, Kelm’s “joy study” showed that after twenty-eight days, 97 percent of participants assessed themselves to be significantly happier. Even more remarkable, participants in the study continued to feel happier even six months afterward.
Just three exercises in twenty-eight days? It sounds so simple because author Jacqueline Kelm makes it simple. The book will highlight exactly how and why these exercises work. The Joy of Appreciative Living transforms complexity, insight, and years of trial into one focused, high-powered program of daily practice that can make all the difference in your world.
- GenresNonfictionSelf Help
224 pages, Hardcover
First published December 11, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 16, 2023
I loved the strength based approach to appreciative inquiry. I wrote a research paper on the topic and this book inspires me to reflect on strength based coaching, looking for the positives (and joy) and making this world a better place with one small positive step at a time!
May 29, 2017
This book really clicked for me. If I were doing my life again, I might well be a psychologist, and over time, I've done a lot of reading in the field. In the process, I've (not surprisingly) come up with some hunches & preoccupations of my own. This book, more than any I can recall, pulled together a number of them: narrative constructivism, the power of questions, the value of focusing on qualities (e.g., joy) instead of goals and to-do lists (necessary, of course, but as a means, not as the ends they can become.) So glad I stumbled on it--look forward to learning more about Appreciative Inquiry.
March 18, 2010
This is a good book. It is a good overview of what feeling grateful for the good things in your life can do for you. It also has a practical three step program to use both gratitude and positive visualizations in your life.
Except for the practical program, there was very little that was new to me here, but it worked as a good review for me, and I like the easy practical program. She isn't asking anyone to spend hours every day working through her ideas. You can do it in as little as 5 minutes a day, and an additional 15 minutes on the weekend.
I've done gratitude lists before, and the first part of her program is a short gratitude list. The second and third parts of her program are more unique. She asks you to think of the single thing that you could do today that would bring more joy into your life, and then has you focus on that concept in ways that are probably different from your original concept. And she uses a very different version of visualization from any that I've seen before, and one that will work on someone who can't meditate.
I recommend it.
Except for the practical program, there was very little that was new to me here, but it worked as a good review for me, and I like the easy practical program. She isn't asking anyone to spend hours every day working through her ideas. You can do it in as little as 5 minutes a day, and an additional 15 minutes on the weekend.
I've done gratitude lists before, and the first part of her program is a short gratitude list. The second and third parts of her program are more unique. She asks you to think of the single thing that you could do today that would bring more joy into your life, and then has you focus on that concept in ways that are probably different from your original concept. And she uses a very different version of visualization from any that I've seen before, and one that will work on someone who can't meditate.
I recommend it.
December 14, 2016
The general consensus of the book was that it did not offer new insights, and the three steps were too simplistic. However, during our book club meeting we realized that the book did have a positive effect. The book made each of us contemplate what gives us joy and how we find joy in our daily lives. By discussing our individual contemplations, we discovered that there are steps each of us can take to improve our level of joy and most were resolved to put those steps into action.
The biggest takeaway from the book and discussion is that we are responsible for our own level of joy. Kelm provided a modified version of the serenity prayer to explain this. “Grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it’s me.”
The biggest takeaway from the book and discussion is that we are responsible for our own level of joy. Kelm provided a modified version of the serenity prayer to explain this. “Grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it’s me.”
July 10, 2013
What an inspiration. I am seriously tempted to research this line of thinking further when I return to school. The book explains effective and proven ways to increase your happiness by spending 5 minutes a day on two easy exercises (list 3 things you are grateful for, then one thing you can do today to increase your joy). I have completed these exercises for the past 5 weeks and plan to continue them as they really have made a difference in my life and happiness.
January 8, 2013
I found this book at a time when it was tough to find much joy in life. With the simple steps and profound insights, I began to look for (and find) the ways that God was filling my life with joy. Another great one to re-read!
December 31, 2011
Goes along with alot of what I have been reading and listening to. Cannot wait to start my 28 days.
August 16, 2019
Way too oversimplified for me. Besides, joy should not be derived from circumstances, but from overall state of mind. Perhaps it can help someone in need.
September 19, 2009
I will say this- this book is loaded with many common sense principles and ideas. But let's face it- some of us are low on common sense. We tend to look at a great many situations from a very negative perspective and this book offers simple actions to take to change that. While reading it, I felt like it was written just for me (although I realize we all struggle through many of the things described). While there is nothing new under the sun, I found the scientific info provided very fascinating, the quotations she used were right on point and the actual daily exercises for joy that she recommends are easy to do. We probably have all tried similar things in our lives (gratitude journals, positive thinking) but the organization behind her process fascinates me. It's about building routines and much of the advice in this book can be applied to anything you want to accomplish.
I highly recommend it if you need to adjust your focus in life. Sometimes we all get bogged down in a negative trend and need to redirect ourselves! Plus it is nicely written, not at all patronizing and a quick read!
I highly recommend it if you need to adjust your focus in life. Sometimes we all get bogged down in a negative trend and need to redirect ourselves! Plus it is nicely written, not at all patronizing and a quick read!
November 25, 2009
So the title sounds dorky, but guess what, it really did change my life in three easy steps. Wow. Good stuff.
June 20, 2014
Great book when you find yourself in a rut!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews