Pursuit of Perfect

How to Stop Chasing and Start Living a Richer, Happier Life

By: Tal Ben-Shahar

Narrated by: Eric Conger

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 best-selling author of Happier, the pursuit of perfect may actually be the number-one internal obstacle to finding happiness.

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. He provides exercises for self reflection, meditations, and "Time-Ins" to help you rediscover what you really want out of life.

©2009 Tal Ben-Shahar (P)2009 HighBridge Company.

Amazing book!

This is a very helpful self help guide for the perfectionist that exists in each of us. It was thorough and detailed but also entertaining. I highly recommend reading it.

Everyone can benefit from this book

LOVE this book. Will be recommending to others from here on. Very helpful tools for professional development, relationships and parenting.

Loved this one

I am going to listen to this book again :)
I just lived it ... Mind opening ;)
If you are stuck in your life this book will free you.

Great read!

I thought this book was excellent and it really has helped me to understand myself so much and think about how I communicate with people.

Highest recommendations possible!

I read this book in an effort to branch out and read something different than my usual choices of fiction, philosophy and psychology textbooks. I was expecting the book to be sort of "self-helpy" and honestly just hoped I would learn at least one helpful nugget of information. However, it turned out to be right up my alley and delivered countless nuggets of illumination. Tal Ben-Shahar delivers an impressive survey of perfectionism in a way that is scientific and engaging and as a result the book connects on a deeply personal level mentally and emotionally. He systematically outlines both the root causes and the wide range of effects of the perfectionist mindset. He covers work ethic, self regard and ways of viewing personal success and failure- but he also examines perfectionism's wider implications. Ben-Shahar traces perfectionism back to Plato, contrasts him with Aristotle, and proceeds to outline perfectionism's effects in the realms of education, politics and moral philosophy. He also covers perfectionism with regard to parenting and aging. While drawing on expert research, historical lessons, and personal stories, the author breaks downs the dichotomy between the driven overachiever and the lazy slacker. I could not recommend this book more! This is the most life-changing thing I have read in 3 years. The reader wasn't great, but the book was so good, it didn't really matter.

Great section on relationships

Good book with some really good insights. Especially helpful was the section on marriage and relationships. I found myself rethinking conflict in an even more positive light. That section read by the mass would transform our current marriage, family and friendships in the most positive ways.

True gem

Forever changed my life a true gem. I know this will be a book I will revisit forever.

Reference book.

I bought two of these in hardback after having listened to it. A voice of reason and a balancing source. The pursuit of perfect will not bring happiness and here is why. Highly reckommended!

Life changing

think the title of the book could be misleading for some people, as many wouldn't label themselves as perfectionists , Tal Ben Shahar proves in his theory that we all have struggles in perfectionism in one field of life or another which is very true to me. I prefer to call this book: The book of change, in which the author takes us into a journey of self reflections, self insights & subsequently a chance for a meaningful change only through the HARD WORK of sincere implementations of the exercises.
His unique writing style mingles philosophy & the best of academic research in cognitive psychology all together in a persuasive presentation. The exercises are persuasive enough because they all stand on the solid ground of empirical evidence.
What took me in awe were the closing 10 meditations, or better to call them the 10 wisdoms .
In conclusion, a unique work indeed, bringing a deeper and more mature level, for a more happier life.

Pursuit of Perfect

Excellent. I really enjoyed the author professional way of explaining what happens when looking for perfection.
I will be looking for more books from Tal Ben-Shahar