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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
Really valuable read. I view this book the same way I do The Courage To Be Disliked in the sense that I have similar critiques. The main one is that I think it oversimplifies mental health and threatens to have the argument of ‘Are you despressed? Just think happy thoughts!’ which is just not true based off our modern day understanding of psychology. They mentioned stuttering a few times as an example, and while I can understand that sometimes stuttering is anxiety-induced and therefore may be helped by working on your mindset, that isn’t the case for everyone. It probably isn’t the case for the majority. But despite that, it isn’t too bad. It isn’t making claims as bad as The Secret does, and that’s kind of my gauge for books like this.
Another (small) critique I had was how much the author referred to Christian beliefs. I didn’t mind it, I thought it did its job of furthering the author’s point even from a non-Christian’s perspective, but if you’re the type of reader that prefers to read books from agnostic or atheist leaning self-help authors, this might make you want to read this book less.
What I do like about this book though is how all encompassing it is. It talks about many self-help topics and concerns within one book which is pretty impressive, if you ask me. The exercises were a good addition too. I also particularly like that Maltz used to be a plastic surgeon. I think his background gives a unique perspective to a topic that’s arguably been done to death. It helps that he’s a decent writer too.
Overall, I liked this book but take a few of his ideas with a grain of salt. It’s definitely the kind of book I’d come back to in the future though.
Another (small) critique I had was how much the author referred to Christian beliefs. I didn’t mind it, I thought it did its job of furthering the author’s point even from a non-Christian’s perspective, but if you’re the type of reader that prefers to read books from agnostic or atheist leaning self-help authors, this might make you want to read this book less.
What I do like about this book though is how all encompassing it is. It talks about many self-help topics and concerns within one book which is pretty impressive, if you ask me. The exercises were a good addition too. I also particularly like that Maltz used to be a plastic surgeon. I think his background gives a unique perspective to a topic that’s arguably been done to death. It helps that he’s a decent writer too.
Overall, I liked this book but take a few of his ideas with a grain of salt. It’s definitely the kind of book I’d come back to in the future though.
Life changing. Best way to finish the year, tbh. (Longer, more on depth review to follow)
Cyber cybernetics is mastering the humas ability to seperate fact from fiction
There are a few powerful ideas in this book, and it's clear how the original influenced many other authors and teachers. However, even in this "updated" version, the ableism and dated language feel like a slap in the face. Granted, I've read books from that era that are worse, and you can tell that they tried to update somewhat.
4.5 / 5
This one is interesting.
Firstly it was the first book I read on my eBook reader so I read it kind of slow. Initially, I was bored because the first part was essentially a testimonial to the effectiveness of the process. It seemed quite long, overly repetetive and not that convincing. As a young guy, I didn't know any of the successful people mentioned as vigorous practitioners of Psycho-Cybernetics. Then I reminded myself the original book was actually written almost 60 years ago. Anyway, when I give it a second read (and I definitely will) I'll skip that part. After that is the actual Psycho-Cybernetics, the meat, the heart, the soul of the book and it's amazing! I was astonished by the profound and accurate understanding of the human condition Dr. Maltz had. I totally thought of giving it solid 5 stars and adding to my top-10 list.
Well...at least up to the first half of the book. Then there was this chapter that..I guess 'triggered' me. Maybe it was because I took it very personally which I don't attempt to deny. But they were some statements that I found exceptionally generalized, which also left me with a lot of questions and potential arguments against them. And that, unfortunately, changed the way I looked at the second half of the book. I was a bit more critical both consciously and unconsciously. There were a few chapters after that I thought weren't very well constructed. The explanation was left for the end which left me thinking 'what the hell I'm reading' the whole chapter. Overall though, it got better after that. Another thing that bothered me slightly was the frequent mention of God and general inclusion of religion. Not that I have any problem with personal beliefs. I'm just wary of people who put science and mysticism in the same context.
That being said I think this is a must-read! It's better than some of the other 4-stars I've read and rated but not quite as polished as the 5-stars, so I guess that makes it 4.5/5.
This one is interesting.
Firstly it was the first book I read on my eBook reader so I read it kind of slow. Initially, I was bored because the first part was essentially a testimonial to the effectiveness of the process. It seemed quite long, overly repetetive and not that convincing. As a young guy, I didn't know any of the successful people mentioned as vigorous practitioners of Psycho-Cybernetics. Then I reminded myself the original book was actually written almost 60 years ago. Anyway, when I give it a second read (and I definitely will) I'll skip that part. After that is the actual Psycho-Cybernetics, the meat, the heart, the soul of the book and it's amazing! I was astonished by the profound and accurate understanding of the human condition Dr. Maltz had. I totally thought of giving it solid 5 stars and adding to my top-10 list.
Well...at least up to the first half of the book. Then there was this chapter that..I guess 'triggered' me. Maybe it was because I took it very personally which I don't attempt to deny. But they were some statements that I found exceptionally generalized, which also left me with a lot of questions and potential arguments against them. And that, unfortunately, changed the way I looked at the second half of the book. I was a bit more critical both consciously and unconsciously. There were a few chapters after that I thought weren't very well constructed. The explanation was left for the end which left me thinking 'what the hell I'm reading' the whole chapter. Overall though, it got better after that. Another thing that bothered me slightly was the frequent mention of God and general inclusion of religion. Not that I have any problem with personal beliefs. I'm just wary of people who put science and mysticism in the same context.
That being said I think this is a must-read! It's better than some of the other 4-stars I've read and rated but not quite as polished as the 5-stars, so I guess that makes it 4.5/5.
I don't always read self-improvement books, and most such books didn't impress me enough. But this one was great. It gives ideas and practical exercises. I don't know whether this book was enough by itself or my previous experience helped, but I hope that this will be a new start for me.