The Sweet Spot

Learn how to achieve more by doing less! Instead of driving yourself (and perhaps your family and employees) into the ground, find your sweet spot so that you can thrive in a place of great strength and tremendous ease.

Not long ago, Christine Carter, a happiness expert at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center and a speaker, writer, and mother, found herself exasperated by the busyness of modern life: too many conflicting obligations and not enough time, energy, or patience to get everything done. She tried all the standard techniques—prioritizing, multitasking, delegating, even napping—but none really worked. She needed a new approach, one that would allow her to live in that zone we’ve all glimpsed but can never seem to hold on to: the sweet spot where we have the greatest strength, but also the greatest ease. Determined to create a less stressful life for herself—without giving up her hard-won career success or happiness at home—she road-tested every research-based tactic that promised to bring more ease into her life. Drawing on her vast knowledge of the latest psychological, neurological, sociological, and biological research related to happiness, productivity, and elite performance, she followed every strategy that promised to give her more energy—or that could make her more efficient, creative, or intelligent.

Her trials and errors are our reward. In The Sweet Spot, Carter shares what she calls “the sweet spot equation,” a combination of strategies and practices for attaining happiness without giving up success, and for achieving success without compromising happiness. Using a simple formula, The Sweet Spot shows us how to

• dramatically increase our brainpower by converting stress into productive and creative energy
• institute absurdly simple micro-habits that free us up to focus on our highest priorities and enjoy life more
• inoculate ourselves against “The Overwhelm” by using technology strategically rather than in ways that sap our strength
• enrich our relationships—making use of surprising social connections—to help us thrive
• cultivate tolerance for discomfort so we can build the skills that make hard things feel easy and develop the grit to bounce back from life’s inevitable setbacks

Complete with practical “easiest thing” tips for instant relief as well as stories from Carter’s own experience putting The Sweet Spot into action, this timely and inspiring book lets us in on the possibilities for joy and freedom that comes when we stop trying to do everything right—and start doing the right things.

Advance praise for The Sweet Spot

“Illuminates the simple and sustainable path toward a precious and happy balance.”—Deepak Chopra

“A gift, like a good friend drawing a personal road map out of the crazy busy swirl of our overloaded lives.”—Brigid Schulte, author of Overwhelmed

“This book did something I thought was impossible: It seemed to give me more time.” —Martha Beck, author of Finding Your Way in a Wild New World

“A page-turning thriller full of proven ways to have the life you want.”—Rick Hanson, Ph.D., author of Hardwiring Happiness

“Timely, lively, and vital, The Sweet Spot is an immediately useful must-read.”—Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage