Press Room

New York Times Bestselling Author of HAPPIER

"Every person concerned with success, and that includes most of us - should read this book."

Sonja Lyubomirksy, author of The How of Happiness

"This book will inspire you to realize your innate potential for happiness and awaken the genuine aspiration to change, while avoiding the trap of perfectionism and the unrealistic demands of the ego." Matthieu Ricard, author of Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill

"Tal Ben-Shahar has done it again! In Happier, he invited us to rethink our assumptions about happiness and what it depends on. Now, In The Pursuit of Perfect he invites us to discard the fallacy that the pursuit of "perfect" is the best indicator of success and happiness." Nathaniel Branden, author of The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem

The recently laid-off are under tremendous stress, learning to make do with less. Many are coping with the psychological ramifications of feeling failure and dissapointment at having lost their jobs and fortunes. In a society that flaunts wealth and perfection as emblems of success, adjusting to a less-than-perfect lifestyle is a major challenge. Even in a good economy, we are continually bombarded with images and definitions of perfection that promise total happiness.

Paradoxically, writes Tal Ben-Shahar, the harder we pursue a state of "perfect," the more elusive happiness becomes. In THE PURSUIT OF PERFECT: How to Stop Chasing Perfection and Start Living a Richer, Happier Life (McGraw-Hill Professional; April, 2009; HC, $22.95); Ben-Shahar, whose book, Happier, and popular "Happiness" classes at Harvard University garnered national attention, confronts the myths and perils of perfection. By examining the standards we desire of ourselves and others, he helps readers to rediscover the roots of our unreasonable expectations and remove the obstacles to finding happiness.

Ben-Shahar's research in the field of positive psychology reveals the high cost of perpetually seeking this unrealistic state of being. He writes that we suffer from the myth of perfection, individually and collectively.

The Perfectionist is so chronically unsatisfied with anything remotely flawed that that true happiness becomes ever more elusive. Even success gets rejected ("I could have done better!"), instantly eclipsing any feelings of pride, accomplishment, or gratitude. Happiness doesn't hide within perfection, he cautions.

The Optimalist, on the other hand, accepts the flaws and realities of life's journey, and understands that failure is a part of the plan. Optimalists know the difference between mistakes and failure, can accept the reality of an less-than-perfect life, can accept praise for a job well done and learn from mistakes. Optimalists are far from perfect, writes Ben-Shahar, but are perfectly, happily, human.

Drawing insights from professors, poets, philosophers, and even physicists, with insightful anecdotes and meditative time-ins, THE PURSUIT OF PERFECT reveals the flaws in the drive to be flawless. It teaches how to cut loose from the all-or-nothing mentality of the Perfectionist and balance it with the open, fearless embrace of the Optimalist.

About the Author:

Tal Ben-Shahar, Ph.D., is the New York Times bestselling author of Happier (McGraw-Hill). He taught the most popular course in Harvard University's history. He obtained in Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and a B.A. in Philosophy and Psychology from Harvard.

THE PURSUIT OF PERFECT

ISBN10: 0071608826/ ISBN-13: 9780071608824

April, 2009

Hardcover, $22.95