LEIGH FORBES: Books of all Sorts

The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking

by Oliver Burkeman.

A no-nonsense look through the veneer of “positive thinking”.

It would be so easy to rant about the glitz and fakery surrounding “motivational” stuff, but Oliver Burkeman calmly, and in all seriousness, starts by explaining why – for example – trying not to think negatively, makes us focus on the negatives, which means that, often, striving to be happy just makes us more unhappy; he goes on to present some of the alternative modus operandi for life, e.g. stoicism, Buddhism, etc., before taking a closer look at some of our deepest fears. And he does all this in a refreshingly understated way. No hype here!

If you’re tired of hearing how “you can do ANYTHING if you just try hard enough” (no, you can’t), then this book is for you.

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