*A new book from the best-selling author of "Understanding Emotions"
* Includes illustrations that have garnered 150,000 followers
*Highly recommended by 200,000 psychology YouTuber Utta!

Happiness, which had felt abstract and difficult, appeared before us in bright and vivid clothes.
In fact, it was there from the beginning, but I feel like I was deceived and didn't realize it because of the numerous lies.
This book will help you stop looking for happiness far away and start being happy today.
It will be the starting point for reclaiming the happiness that already exists within me, rather than seeking it from outside.
- Utta (counseling psychologist, YouTuber with 200,000 subscribers)

For those who feel happiness is far away
The Easy and Clear Art of Happiness Revealed by Brain Science

A new book by Emma Hepburn, author of the best-selling book "Understanding Emotions," has been translated and published.
The author, who dealt with techniques for dealing with 'emotions' in his previous work, focuses on 'happiness' this time.
The author says that we cannot achieve true happiness if we misunderstand what happiness is, and changes the framework of our perception of happiness itself.
The brain doesn't exist to please us.
Starting from this simple truth, Hepburn explains, from a neuroscientific perspective, why happiness is difficult to feel and sustain.
The way our brains work—sensitive to threats, prone to harboring negative emotions, and prone to addiction to rewards—is the main reason we struggle to find happiness. "The Brain Science of Happiness" is a book filled with accessible brain science knowledge and practical psychological prescriptions.
If you practice the "happiness practice" suggested in this book one by one, you will be able to transform into a person who "easily feels happiness" in everyday moments without breaking down in the face of hardship.

“I believe that the purpose of life is to be happy.” I still vividly remember the moment I read this sentence from the Dalai Lama.
At the age of twenty-one, as I was wandering around searching for my purpose in life, these words stopped me in my tracks.
For a while, I was so overwhelmed by the weight of those words that I even forgot about my next home visit appointment.
My heart was moved by this simple statement that the purpose of life is happiness itself.
It was in that car next to an old streetlight that I realized that happiness was not a secondary emotion that came with something else, but a goal worth pursuing in and of itself.
--- p.7

Is feeling good enough to be happy? I get excited when I go shopping, but I get depressed when I look at my credit card statement.
Nothing lasts forever, whether it's a bad feeling or a good feeling.
Rather, if you just suppress bad feelings, you may end up suffering from guilt or self-doubt when those feelings arise.
Suppressing negative thoughts puts a strain on your brain and body, and the resulting stress gradually reduces your happiness.
Maintaining good emotions doesn't mean eliminating bad emotions, but rather understanding them and responding to them wisely.

--- p.26

People want to live safely and securely within social connections.
In this area, our brain and I have the same orientation.
We move towards one goal.
But sometimes our brain doesn't work the way we want it to.
When we hear something unpleasant, we forget all the good memories of that day and spend the whole day fixated on that word, feeling depressed.
Even though we don't want to remember it, the reason those words keep coming back to us is because our brain keeps reminding us of them so that we don't get hurt by the same words later.
In times like these, our brain and our mind create dissonance.

--- p.33

Many people deny themselves happiness by falling into traps of their own making.
People who are afraid that happiness will disappear even at the moment they feel it, people who are afraid that unhappiness will follow happiness, people who think negatively that they should not have positive emotions, people who think that pride is arrogance… … These people suppress themselves by saying that they should not be happy.
People who feel they don't deserve happiness don't trust themselves.
However, positive emotions and experiences should never be a secondary priority.
Positive activities and the pleasant feelings that follow are not only good for your brain, body, and health, but they also increase your happiness index.
Positivity is the essence of life and should be the center of happiness.

--- p.45

The brain perceives uncertainty as a threat and seeks to understand and resolve the unknown.
However, in an attempt to reduce uncertainty, we often fill the unknown with inaccurate information, which only increases anxiety.
Efforts to fill the unknown—anticipating worst-case scenarios, endlessly gathering information (watching the news all day during COVID), constantly searching for answers when there are none (Google searches), and constantly seeking confirmation—may provide short-term peace of mind, but they don't address the uncertainty itself, and can only make things worse.

--- p.105

The brain is persistent.
In a vast ocean of information, the brain only collects evidence that reinforces the information it trusts.
This is called confirmation bias.
One of my favorite studies in psychology involves showing the same article to two groups with opposing views.
What were the results? Interestingly, both groups responded that the article supported their own views.
Both groups read only information that reinforced their respective beliefs.
The brain has an amazing ability to selectively pay attention to only that information.
If the brain has negative beliefs, its functioning becomes at its worst.

--- p.112

Some people equate failing in an exam with failing in life, becoming sad and despairing, while others, though difficult, accept it as a one-time event.
Or, some people may take this failure as a sign that they have been living wrongly up to now, use it as a turning point in their lives, and seek a new path.
Even in the same event, interpretations can vary because various factors, such as each person's life, experiences, and internal belief systems, interact in a complex manner.
There is no wrong interpretation, but there is no right answer either.
--- p.132

From a psychologist's perspective, "coping" means knowing what to do when experiencing difficult emotions and responding in a way that will help you return to happiness in the long run.
When difficulties arise, some people cope well with the crisis, while others struggle.
In any case, we must respond well to these challenging emotions.

--- p.210