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A review by aperson
The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman
4.0
This was a fascinating book. Oliver takes you through a journey where he turns many of the common self-help concepts on their head. He discusses the following subjects:
1 - Trying too hard to be happy
2 - The Stoic art of confronting the worst-case scenario
3 - A Buddhist guide to not thinking positively
4 - Not trying to control the future
5 - Getting over your sense of self
6 - Benefits of insecurity
7 - Embracing your failures
8 - Embracing the fact of death
These were really interesting ideas that we are not often confronted with. How many times have you been told to stop trying so hard to be happy? Or to delve as deeply as you can into what the worst-case scenario will be. These ideas, oddly enough, have helped me to let go of my anxieties about trying to be a happy person and I've become more able to accept my natural state of mood.
This is not a book that will solve all your problems - as that book does not exist. This is a book that might help you reconsider the idea of "constant happiness" that is thrust upon us by society. I would definitely recommend it and enjoyed the different perspective it offered.
1 - Trying too hard to be happy
2 - The Stoic art of confronting the worst-case scenario
3 - A Buddhist guide to not thinking positively
4 - Not trying to control the future
5 - Getting over your sense of self
6 - Benefits of insecurity
7 - Embracing your failures
8 - Embracing the fact of death
These were really interesting ideas that we are not often confronted with. How many times have you been told to stop trying so hard to be happy? Or to delve as deeply as you can into what the worst-case scenario will be. These ideas, oddly enough, have helped me to let go of my anxieties about trying to be a happy person and I've become more able to accept my natural state of mood.
This is not a book that will solve all your problems - as that book does not exist. This is a book that might help you reconsider the idea of "constant happiness" that is thrust upon us by society. I would definitely recommend it and enjoyed the different perspective it offered.