It's here! Browse the 2024 Penguin Christmas gift guide
Life in Three Dimensions

Life in Three Dimensions

How Curiosity, Exploration and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life

Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

There’s another way to lead a good life.


For years, we’ve been told the key to personal fulfillment lies in either happiness or meaning. But while they can provide comfort and security, the paradox of happiness and meaning is that the complacency they foster can make for an incomplete life, full of regrets, doubts and unanswered questions. So what’s the alternative?

A psychologically rich life prioritises curiosity over contentment. Yes, doing something unusual, challenging oneself and learning something new can feel frustrating and unpleasant at times. But in Life in Three Dimensions, Shige Oishi weaves his own story with original research from fields ranging from moral philosophy, literature, culture, neuroscience, personality and psychology, to prove that psychological richness has benefits beyond happiness or meaning.

Ultimately, Oishi shows how anyone can use the three dimensions - happiness, meaning, and psychological richness - to build a fuller, more satisfying life.

© Shige Oishi 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Reviews

  • Many people want more out of life than happiness. They want to embrace life in all its variety and possibility. Until now, psychology has had little to offer such people. Not any more. Shige Oishi sees humanity in new ways and has made many discoveries about happiness that have eluded researchers before him. Life in Three Dimensions will give you new insights into the many ways to live well, including advice on how to pick the one most likely to be right for you.
    Jonathan Haidt, author of Sunday Times bestselling The Anxious Generation

About the author

Shigehiro Oishi

Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more