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lise812 's review for:
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
When I started Don't Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen I didn't expect a full-on self help book. That's probably my fault for not looking more into the synopsis. But from what I had read of it, it seemed more like an actual explanation first and then how to change your way of thinking.
It is mostly that first part that interested me, I was expecting a scientific explanation on why we sometimes perceive things in a way that is not true to reality. However, I do not see this book as a scientific one. It surely includes advice that can help people, but its reasoning is mostly based on spirituality. I am not a spiritual person, nor does it interest me (in fact I have a bit of an aversion to it). The mentions of "the divine" really threw off. The first red flag was when Nguyen proclaimed that our natural state is happiness. Even in the most introductory neuropsychology class it is mentioned that the best state for survival (thus encouraged in evolution) is mild unhappiness, because we are more wary of our surroundings.
The main point of this book is that "thinking is the root cause of suffering", which has truth to it (overthinking is bad), but the "solution" in this book is essentially "stop thinking", which is not only not feasible but also seems awfully boring to me. I agree that we often feel most peaceful when doing something we love, and that our mind isn't that active at such a moment. But that doesn't apply to all passions and it can only be fun if we also have the other side of it. I also do not subscribe to the idea that if we just wait a fantastic, world-changing idea will just pop in our heads, it's a sentiment I actively dislike.
In conclusion, I think the author has good intentions but I don't believe in the "Great Beyond" or "Universe" that will help us, so this way of living just seems very passive to me. Furthermore, while this is a short book it still felt too long. The message could have been explained in 15 pages and the "advice" at the end didn't really help. I listened to this on audiobook, which is the only reason I finished it.
It is mostly that first part that interested me, I was expecting a scientific explanation on why we sometimes perceive things in a way that is not true to reality. However, I do not see this book as a scientific one. It surely includes advice that can help people, but its reasoning is mostly based on spirituality. I am not a spiritual person, nor does it interest me (in fact I have a bit of an aversion to it). The mentions of "the divine" really threw off. The first red flag was when Nguyen proclaimed that our natural state is happiness. Even in the most introductory neuropsychology class it is mentioned that the best state for survival (thus encouraged in evolution) is mild unhappiness, because we are more wary of our surroundings.
The main point of this book is that "thinking is the root cause of suffering", which has truth to it (overthinking is bad), but the "solution" in this book is essentially "stop thinking", which is not only not feasible but also seems awfully boring to me. I agree that we often feel most peaceful when doing something we love, and that our mind isn't that active at such a moment. But that doesn't apply to all passions and it can only be fun if we also have the other side of it. I also do not subscribe to the idea that if we just wait a fantastic, world-changing idea will just pop in our heads, it's a sentiment I actively dislike.
In conclusion, I think the author has good intentions but I don't believe in the "Great Beyond" or "Universe" that will help us, so this way of living just seems very passive to me. Furthermore, while this is a short book it still felt too long. The message could have been explained in 15 pages and the "advice" at the end didn't really help. I listened to this on audiobook, which is the only reason I finished it.