Tools, Not Toys #3: “The Happiness Trap”
About “Tools, Not Toys”
If you’ve checked out our website, you may have come across a phrase we use: TOOLS, NOT TOYS—and we take this VERY seriously. The fitness, wellness, and nutrition landscape is flooded with noise and nonsense. The signal-to-noise ratio? Easily 99% noise.
In a world where everyone’s looking for shortcuts, the biohacking industry has exploded with promises of effortless optimization—pills, gadgets, and secret formulas that supposedly unlock peak performance with minimal effort. But if these “hacks” actually worked, why does Dave Asprey keep filling up my inbox every week with the latest secret nano-technology African berry and triple-osmotic gravity-reduced water that only 1% of billionaire CEOs know about? And for the low, low price of… well, you get the idea.
If the hacks from 10 years ago, 5 years ago, or even 3 months ago really worked, shouldn’t we all be living in our fully “optimized” health by now? The truth is, biohackers are salesmen, not scientists. Real, lasting health doesn’t come from a magic pill or $5,000 vibrating plate gizmos—it comes from hard, disciplined, and consistent work.
However, there are legitimate tools—not toys—that can help translate the work we put in into the outcomes we’re aiming for, more efficiently. Each of our newsletters will highlight a tool that is evidence-based and personally used by us.
As always, remember: every individual is different. Use your own assessments and critical thinking before deciding to purchase any of the products we recommend.
Tool of the Month: The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris (2022)
This month’s TNT is a little different than our previous selections. This month’s selection is a book I use in therapy, suggested by my therapist called The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris (2022). Although I was prescribed this book by my psychologist as we worked on issues related to my OCD, I believe it has truly universal wisdom and benefits for anyone who ever feels that finding happiness is often fleeting and harder than it should be.
I’m very skeptical/cynical/uninterested in most books in the “self help” section of any bookstore due to the trite and usually science-less rehashed jibber jabber that is better left for those wooden signs meant for your bathroom that they sell at Target. This book is not that. I’ve found it to be uniquely thoughtful and practical, and based in a heavily research-based technique of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
It’s been helpful for me, and as skills training was the focus of this summer’s newsletter, if you are interested in sharpening some of your emotional regulation tools amidst your other beach reading, I highly, highly recommend. While we unfortunately do not have a discount code for this book, it is available on Amazon and many audio book platforms.