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Learner Reviews & Feedback for A Life of Happiness and Fulfillment by Indian School of Business

4.8
stars
5,808 ratings

About the Course

What are the determinants of a happy and fulfilling life? This is surely one of life’s biggest questions, and a question that has interested many of our ancestors. Buddha famously gave up his kingdom in search of happiness. Several Greek philosophers (from Aristotle to Epicurus and Plato to Socrates) had their own views on what it takes to be happy. And of course, we all have our own theories about happiness too. How valid are our theories? Until recently, if you wished for an answer to this question, you would've been forced to base it on discussions with spiritual leaders. Or, if you were lucky, you could've based it on late-night (and perhaps intoxicant-fueled) conversations with friends and family. Happily, all that has changed now. Over the past decade-and-a-half, scientists have gotten into the act big time. We now have a pretty good idea of what it takes to lead a happy and fulfilling life. This course, based on the award-winning class offered both at the Indian School of Business and at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, developed by Prof. Raj Raghunathan (aka "Dr. Happy-smarts") draws content from a variety of fields, including psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral decision theory to offer a tested and practical recipe for leading a life of happiness and fulfillment. Although not mandatory, reading Prof. Raj's forthcoming book, titled If you're so smart, why aren't you happy? can help you review and assimilate the material covered in this book at your leisure. For Coursera learners alone, the hardcover version of the book is available for a deep discount of 50%, plus shipping and handling. You can order the hardcover for 50% off by writing to Aaron at: Aaron@800ceoread.com. Please mention that you are a student of the "coursera happiness course" in your email. The course will feature guest appearances by several well-known thought leaders, including: - Dan Ariely (author of Predictably Irrational and, soon to be released, Irrationally Yours), - Ed Diener (“Dr. Happiness”), - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (author of Flow), By taking this course, you will discover the answers to questions such as: - Why aren’t the smart-and-the-successful as happy as they could—or should—be - What are the “7 Deadly Happiness Sins” that even the smart and the successful commit?, and - What are the “7 Habits of the Highly Happy” and how can you implement them in your life? By the end of the course, I expect students who have been diligent with the lectures and exercises to not just gain a deeper understanding of the science of happiness, but to also be significantly happier....

Top reviews

CR

Apr 23, 2018

Excellent course, Professor Raj is great. I found it very helpful to see what types of personality traits I have that may contribute to my happiness level and possible approaches to dealing with them.

LS

Jan 23, 2017

This course is a joy! I cannot recommend it highly enough. Practical advice based on long-term research, interviews with worldwide experts on the topics discussed, and a fabulous professor. So great!

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1826 - 1850 of 2,036 Reviews for A Life of Happiness and Fulfillment

By Priya D

Dec 6, 2015

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By Natalia B

Nov 23, 2015

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By Olivier T

Nov 1, 2015

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By Maurizio M

Sep 27, 2015

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By Deleted A

Feb 14, 2016

This is probably my fourth course at Coursera. And the first one I could complete properly. I have had to leave the rest because of the time and effort they asked for, and for a working professional, it's just that much harder to give in so many hours!

With this course, I feel at ease watching the lectures and felt the tension melt away rather than having an add on pressure. The best part is that I finished this course within 4 weeks rather than the stipulated 6 weeks(which shows how good Dr. Raj is, kudos to him!)

The only thing I felt missing was a sense of feedback from the professors, like in a real classroom. When people indulge themselves in courses involving such vigour and enthusiasm, they expect to find a feedback from the professor as well. Maybe a sense of real time involvement. But then again, I'll congratulate Dr. Raj and the team at ISB for making such a brilliant course. I have already made many of my friends sign up for this!

Cheers.

By Patricia

Feb 26, 2016

I am definitely enjoying Professor Raj, a fellow Texan :-) . I enjoy the guest Skype segments and the book suggestions. I like the Budda quote and the cartoons. Suggestions for improvement.... Make fewer, but longer videos. In my opinion, I lose learning time by watching so many short videos, because each video has the opening animation and closing credits. Also, there really is no need to have someone else give the assignment, she is beautiful and pleasant, but it's distracting and her audio is different than yours, so when wearing ear buds, she sometimes blows my ears up, she's so loud. Would be interested in seeing what else Professor Raj teaches on line.

By Reema L

Jun 30, 2016

I am really enjoying this course. Its so nicely planned out and put together. Prof Raj speaks so eloquently thats easy to follow him. I love the way instructions are provided to submit the assignments. In other coursera courses I have mostly quit because of the lack of proper instructions during the assignments and also additional help. Not this one.

What I dont like is the pop up quiz. Its not that the quiz is bad but the pop up destroys the flow of the topic. You could have executed the quiz just like the polls where there is a pause by the Prof and then comes the quiz. It would ensure a coherence in the videos.

But overall a great course.

By Thania M

May 24, 2017

es un buen curso, aporta grandes cosas a la vida, solo que las traducciones no son muy buenas y causa un poco de conflicto a los hablantes hispano, en lo personal me costo un poco de trabajo contestar los cuestionarios debido a esto. otro aspecto que tendrian que mejorar son las rubricas al momento de calificar los trabajos de nuestros compañeros y ser mas especificos en lo que quieren, hubo algunas preguntan en las que se solicitaba dar nuestros puntos de vista y decir si estabamos e acuerdo o no y al final resulto que teniamos que cubrir una serie de requisitos, lo cual causo un poco de problema al momento de calificar. gracias.

By Débora T

Sep 29, 2015

A life of Happiness and Fulfilment has been a real great experience, a time I could offer myself to explore and dig deep into happiness.

I think Prof. Raj plays a huge role in motivating participants to move forward, even the more suspicious about the value of compassion, mindfulness, loving care.

Prof. Raj teaches with passion and always finding balance between being and acting professional but I am so grateful Prof Raj knows he can dance, and tell us jokes, be super friendly and yet be his perfect "self".

Thank you prof. Raj, I enjoyed your classes and the guests you brought to us.

Alohaf!

By Binu R C P

Jun 29, 2020

Gives conceptual clarity on several aspects of the tenets of happiness with research

Provides a simple and easy MBA framework to remember

I believe that that Self compassion and Mindfulness are the 2 most important aspects of happiness. There could be more time spent on these 2 especially on how to practice them, perhaps a week or so on providing training on practicing them. I know that there is a 6 week post course mindfulness training available to sign up, but still focus on the practice within the course may be more fruitful

By Geeta R

Jun 10, 2019

The course is very detailed. The theories and philosophy is supported by lot of research, talks by expert. The course is overall has lots to offer, the only improvement needed is on the aspect that it seems like a very theory driven and a serious course, the fun part is missing in it.

The orator of the course has immense knowledge and does offer lot of take aways. I actually would have named the course as Scientific method & theories to achieve happiness.

By Fernie

Sep 29, 2016

I was scepticale at first but Raj explained all sides to his ideas so well that I had to keep watching. Every time I thought of important questions, he'd explain it 1 minute later. The only concern for me personaly was that he choose creative wordings over clarity & simplicity. I also aticipated better strategies and explainations to sin #5 for toxic people, psych pain, accountability but besides this everything else was beyond expectations.

By James A

Jul 4, 2020

This is a pretty nice course for all people in need of happiness increasing habits and tips. The professor is a funny and kind person and it's nice listening to him. I found the exam questions slightly more difficult and tricky than it would have been necessary in my view, however in the certificate there is no mention of the percent / grade overall, so you don't have to force yourself to finish all exams with 100% if you don't feel like it.

By Anju A

Sep 20, 2017

This course was very informative and enjoyable. The rich course materials & videos offer excellent learning opportunities into this vast topic.

In my opinion, the instructions for each exercise are too long and tend to become very boring, encouraging me to skip them at times. The students are not so low in intelligence that they need so much repetition in instructions.

Thank you for an overall great course offering.

By ALEJANDRO A M V

Mar 2, 2017

Muy buen curso, enseña técnicas muy útiles para mejorar nuestra felicidad en general. Mi principal crítica es que son DEMASIADOS videos y en ocasiones resultan redundantes, creo que deberían tratar de utilizar material en diapositivas o apoyarse en general menos en los videos (además son muy extensos). Es sumamente útil para los que queremos especializarnos en áreas relacionadas a la psicología. Extrañaré el curso.

By Nanda S

Feb 6, 2021

I would say this course is not only offer an interesting topic but very useful one. At first, i never know that happiness is discussed scientifically by lots of research and findings. Many technique that taught here is applicable daily and totally make sense. I love every particular assignment. You may feel bored after some time but i think it is totally human, you just need to keep going cuz it really worth it!

By Araminta M

Oct 26, 2015

I've taken about 70 MOOCs across multiple platforms. Of those 70, I've completed about 12. Of those 12, about 4 were good. This is one of those four. Sometimes the videos were a little long, but the work was inspired and the science behind the content was great. I did every assignment (rare for a MOOCer, as you probably know). This was totally worth my time. I hope you find it to be worth yours. Enjoy!

By Yajayra S C

Mar 3, 2016

The content it has been very exciting, dynamic and enjoyable. I like how the information is structured and all the sources from professionals are gathering together. Great class for everybody! definitely much more than a Happy Life course. The only thing I don't love about it is the music introduction in every session, which for me is a little too cheese.

By Deedhiti D

May 13, 2022

The course in itself is very good and very interesting but I will still give it a 4 star because the amount of delay they did in giving me my week 5 peer graded assignment score I failed to submit my certificate on time and had to face a lot of problems. I hope in the future the students taking this course does not have to face such a problem. Thank you.

By Soumyadeep D

Jun 30, 2021

its a very rich and enjoying course .In all the sense you'll learn more and more new things and after a successful completion you will get a certificate too . Although it's not about the certificate it's about the content quality which is very good and nourishing in the course of getting JOB or starting something new.

I'm very grateful for this course .

By Tim P

Feb 7, 2016

A very good course. My only suggestions would be to extend the course for a week or even two. The time and amount of work needed to complete the last week's assignments were inconsistent with the other weeks. To have done my best with the final quiz and assignment, I should have spent a significant amount of time reviewing material from previous weeks.

By Patty W

Aug 14, 2015

This was a very good course and it offered many reasons why people aren't happy and techniques on how to change. There were some instances where it was confusing and/or the information was too segmented. I liked that the videos were short, but sometimes that contributed to the segmentation of a lesson. I would recommend this course to others.

By Sujatha R

Jun 1, 2020

My personal thanks to Professor Raj on such a fantastic design and delivery of the course. He seems to practice what he is advocating and it shows in the way he conducts himself. I personally benefitted the most because of the various studies that are referred to in the course. It definitely adds authenticity and objectivity to the course.

By Aglaia D P

May 11, 2020

I'm very satisfied with the course, because we learned useful and interesting information about as also as the title of the course say "A Life of Happiness and Fulfillment"! Furthermore the learning was very joyful and with different methods!!! Thank you coursera and our professor Ras for this opportunity to change our lives!!!

By Alias G

Jun 25, 2016

这是我在Coursera修的第二门课,第一门是学习困难科目的实用思维,之所以要把第一门课讲出来,是因为我对Coursera上面的课的印象一直保持在这门课上。相对来说这门课比较通俗易懂适合初学者,但是视频量也很大,跟我第一门课比起来真是视频量超——大——啊,然后还是秉持着自己高中的英语水平把全英文的课给修完了,(然后就出了繁中字幕(微笑),磕磕碰碰转换班次把课修完了,结果期末考试让写短essay...我这辈子第一次写essay就献给这门课了(咳血)。虽然就相当于写个主观题,全英文还是够呛(好好学英语的重要性)。

总之综上所述,我个人觉得这门课还是很棒的,老师的风格我也比较喜欢,视频质量也很高,相关的资料也很齐全。比起钻研心理学更注重生活实践方面吧。