{"product_id":"9780062910561","title":"The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning","description":"\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor\/Contributor(s):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003eBloom, Paul\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEcco\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDate:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e11\/2\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBinding:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003eHardcover\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003eNEW\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This book will challenge you to rethink your vision of a good life. With sharp insights and lucid prose, Paul Bloom makes a captivating case that pain and suffering are essential to happiness. It’s an exhilarating antidote to toxic positivity.” —Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne of Behavioral Scientist's \"Notable Books of 2021\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the author of Against Empathy, a different kind of happiness book, one that shows us how suffering is an essential source of both pleasure and meaning in our lives\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhy do we so often seek out physical pain and emotional turmoil? We go to movies that make us cry, or scream, or gag. We poke at sores, eat spicy foods, immerse ourselves in hot baths, run marathons. Some of us even seek out pain and humiliation in sexual role-play. Where do these seemingly perverse appetites come from?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing on groundbreaking findings from psychology and brain science, The Sweet Spot shows how the right kind of suffering sets the stage for enhanced pleasure. Pain can distract us from our anxieties and help us transcend the self. Choosing to suffer can serve social goals; it can display how tough we are or, conversely, can function as a cry for help. Feelings of fear and sadness are part of the pleasure of immersing ourselves in play and fantasy and can provide certain moral satisfactions. And effort, struggle, and difficulty can, in the right contexts, lead to the joys of mastery and flow.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut suffering plays a deeper role as well. We are not natural hedonists—a good life involves more than pleasure. People seek lives of meaning and significance; we aspire to rich relationships and satisfying pursuits, and this requires some amount of struggle, anxiety, and loss. Brilliantly argued, witty, and humane, Paul Bloom shows how a life without chosen suffering would be empty—and worse than that, boring.  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eThe Psychology of Happiness:\u003c\/b\u003e Goes beyond simple pleasure to explore why struggle, difficulty, and even pain are necessary for a truly fulfilling existence.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA New Look at the Good Life:\u003c\/b\u003e Challenges the idea that we are natural hedonists, revealing through cutting-edge science why we are drawn to effort, anxiety, and loss.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eBeyond Toxic Positivity:\u003c\/b\u003e An exhilarating counterargument to the idea that we should only “spark joy,” showing how chosen suffering leads to mastery, transcendence, and deeper meaning.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eHuman Flourishing:\u003c\/b\u003e Draws on surprising findings from brain science and psychology to explain everything from why we enjoy spicy food and scary movies to the importance of sacrifice in our most significant relationships.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Ecco","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46825198878975,"sku":"9780062910561","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0452\/0886\/2873\/files\/9780062910561_s600x595.jpg?v=1776098540","url":"https:\/\/massivebookshop.com\/products\/9780062910561","provider":"MASSIVE BOOKSHOP","version":"1.0","type":"link"}