Perfectionism and optimalism are not distinct ways of being, an either-or-choice, but rather they coexist in each person. And while we can move from perfectionism toward optimalism, we never fully leave perfectionism behind and never fully reach optimalism ahead. The optimalism idea is not a distant shore to be reached but a distant star that guides us and can never be reached. As Carl Rogers pointed out, the good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination. Author Tal Ben Shahar – The Pursuit of Perfect

About the author: Tal Ben- Tal Ben-Shahar, Ph.D., is the New York Times bestselling author of Happier. He taught the most popular course at Harvard University and currently teaches at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel. He consults and lectures around the world to multinational organizations, the general public, and at-risk populations. He obtained his Ph.D. in organizational behavior and his B.A. in philosophy and psychology from Harvard.

DO YOU WANT YOUR LIFE TO BE PERFECT?

We’re all laboring under our own and society’s expectations to be perfect in every way-to look younger, to make more money, to be happy all the time. But according to Tal Ben-Shahar, the New York Times bestselling author of Happier, the pursuit of perfect may actually be the number-one internal obstacle to finding happiness.

OR DO YOU WANT TO BE HAPPY?

Applying cutting-edge research in the field of positive psychology-the scientific principles taught in his wildly popular course at Harvard University-Ben-Shahar takes us off the impossible pursuit of perfection and directs us to the way to happiness, richness, and true fulfillment. He shows us the freedom derived from not trying to do it all right all the time and the real lessons that failure and painful emotions can teach us.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE PERFECT TO BE PERFECTLY HAPPY!

In The Pursuit of Perfect, Tal Ben-Shahar offers an optimal way of thinking about failure and success–and the very way we live. He provides exercises for self reflection, meditations, and “Time-Ins” to help you rediscover what you really want out of life.