Detailed Summary

In the book Resisting Happiness, Mathew Kelly tells us how to be happy in life and shares the mantra of happiness.

Almost every person today is trying to be happy and find peace. Some of them have found their secret of happiness while others are disappointed and try to always run after happiness.  To them, it feels like they can never catch happiness and absolute joy in their lives.

The more they try to be happy, the more they get closer to sadness. Stress, anxiety, worry, and emptiness have become good friends who will never leave them.

Mathew Kelly, in his book, says that happiness is not easy to catch. Not even impossible. All you have to do is first figure out what’s bothering you and what makes you sad. When you get the answer, only then will you be able to remove that from your life in order to bring happiness to your life.

“Wherever you find excellence, you find continuous learning. They go hand in hand. Wherever you find that continuous learning is missing, you find mediocrity.”
― Matthew Kelly.

Resisting Happiness Summary – Key Points

In Resisting Happiness, Mathew Kelly has shared his personal experiences and his journey of exploring happiness. The following are the fundamental principles of making yourself happy and content.

Reading makes you happy

One of the secrets of happiness shared by Mathew Kelly in his book Resisting Happiness is reading. He says that reading really relaxes your mind and makes your mind happy. It guides you to do better in life.

This is because when you read a book, you try to relate your life to it, and it feels like the author is talking to you. Whatever inspirations you take from the book or the life of the author, you try to adopt them in your life.

Mathew says that when he was in school, he did not like reading. Maybe because of a tough schedule, he couldn’t find time to read anything besides his course books. But then something inside him made him realize that he should start reading, and the lack of reading is pushing him away from happiness.

Money can’t buy Happiness

Resisting happiness teaches us a lesson that money can never buy happiness. To advocate this, the author shared his story when he asked his neighbor Joe to plant trees at the elementary school down the street.

He offered to give him $1000 an hour as a reward for planting trees. Joe accepted the offer and successfully planted the trees in a few hours. He gave him his reward money. Joe got the money, but he was not truly happy because he did not love doing it. He just did it for the money.

Instead, if he did it voluntarily without taking money. He would work hard for it and put effort into it. It will not give him money but real happiness, which is harder to find.

Enjoy being Alone

Another important lesson that Resisting happiness teaches us is that we should enjoy being alone. When you vibe alone, it will empower you. Be comfortable being alone. Stop depending on people. When you get comfortable in your own company, you will feel happiness, which will become your power.

Spend time alone, go on a date with yourself, and recharge your soul. People who enjoy solitude never become co-dependent. Solitude is the foundation of self-love. When you fall in love your yourself, you start accepting everything about you, and it will give you inner peace.

Mathew shared his life story while in school, struggling to have a better relationship with everyone. He was so drained that one day he took a day off. He went to spend some time alone. He spent some time in the mountains, closer to nature. Then he ate and watched a movie. The best part was that he left his phone at home. That day he felt the most alive and felt what happiness really means.

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Healthy relationships make you happy

As much as the author in his book Resisting Happiness emphasizes being alone and getting comfortable with it. He also says that find good friends and get closer to them. Having good friends is a blessing. Just don’t depend on anyone for your happiness.

He shares how his friends motivated him to do better in his life and how they played an important part in who I am today. He mentioned one of his friends in school, who played a significant role in making me an extrovert.

Once in school, he insisted I ask a girl for the homecoming dance. I got out of my comfort zone and asked her. Not only I felt happy after it, but I became confident. It was all because of my friend.

So, always find friends who motivate you to become a better person. Surround yourself with genuine and supportive friends. The number of friends does not matter. Even if you have only one true friend who makes you happy. He is enough for you.

“The ability to delay gratification is intimately linked with success. You cannot succeed at anything unless you are willing and able to delay gratification.”
― Matthew Kelly.

Resisting Happiness Review

Resisting Happiness is a remarkable book that inspires the reader to find true happiness by exploring their sadness. The life experiences shared by Mathew Kelly motivated me to question where my happiness resides and whether I am actually happy or just surviving life.

Who would I recommend the Resisting Happiness summary to?

All those in their 20s who are trying to find the meaning of life and figuring out where true happiness lies need to read this book. It will definitely inspire them. Moreover, people working days and nights and obsessed with making money need to read this and understand that money can’t buy happiness.