A More Exciting Life

One of the things we all deeply crave, and all richly deserve, is a more exciting life. We know well enough that many things have to be routine, hard and a little bit boring. But we also rightly sense that, if only we can find a way, our lives could be rendered intermittently more joyful, intense, thrilling and beautiful. This is a guide to the more exciting life we know could be ours. It isn't about the outward things we might do: travel, parachute out of airplanes or learn a foreign language. This is a book of psychology and about how we can nurture a sense of inner liberation, accept our desires and aspirations and then have the courage to set ourselves free. Perhaps for too long we have resigned ourselves to things that aren't fair or necessary, we have felt too constricted (and perhaps unloved) to communicate well with others and the proper expansion of our characters has been sacrificed for the sake of compliance. Now is a chance to recover some of our spirit, and to become open to the full intensity, beauty and mystery of life and to the richness of our own possibilities. Here is a guide to that more exciting life we know should - and can - be ours.

The School of Life is a global organisation helping people lead more fulfilled lives. Through our range of books, gifts and stationery we aim to prompt more thoughtful natures and help everyone to find fulfilment. The School of Life is a resource for exploring self-knowledge, relationships, work, socialising, finding calm and enjoying culture through content, community and conversation. You can find us online, in stores and in welcoming spaces around the world offering classes, events and one-to-one therapy sessions. The School of Life is a rapidly growing global brand, with over 5 million YouTube subscribers, 327,000 Facebook followers, 135,000 Instagram followers and 152,000 Twitter followers. The School of Life Press brings together the thinking and ideas of the School of Life creative team under the direction of series editor, Alain de Botton. Their books share a coherent, curated message that speaks with one voice: calm, reassuring, and sane.

1) OTHERS i) Learning to lie a bit less often ii) Leaning into Vulnerability iii) On Self-Assertion iv) What everybody really wants v) Getting Expectations Right 2) SELF i) Learning to be Angry ii) Escaping the Shadow of a Parent iii) On Friendliness to Strangers iv) Dealing with Depression 3) RELATIONSHIPS i) Arguing more Nakedly ii) The Stranger You've been Living Alongside for Years iii) Learning to lay down Boundaries iv) The Benefits of Insecurity v) Untragic Endings vi) The Hardest Person in the World to Break Up With vii) Beyond Masochism viii) Why, once you understand love, you could love anyone ix) Intimacy and Closeness x) Accepting ourselves Sexually xi) An Attractive Mindset 4) WORK i) You could finally leave school! ii) Overcoming the Pressure to be Exceptional iii) The Hard Work of Laziness iv) Learning to listen to your boredom 5) PLEASURE i) Getting More Serious about Pleasure ii) A More Spontaneous Life iii) Small Luxuries iv) Learning to be More Selfish 6) FREEDOM i) How to Lengthen your Life ii) A Few Things Still to be Grateful For iii) Twenty Signs of Emotional Maturity iv) Taking it a day at a time