A join the dots book has more substance - an insult to your intelligence
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When I finished this book ( with great difficulty ) I asked myself the question. Has this book one original idea ?, I came to the conclusion the answer was no.It's guilty of false advertising, it won't change your mind or life.
Despite claims to the contrary, the books message boils down to one simple point. "Positive things happen to positive people". Seligman realises nobody in their right mind would buy this obvious bit of homespun wisdom. So he dresses it up by trying to add some academic spit and polish.It's clearly written by someone who is on autopilot and thinks his readers are Forest Gump.
Yes he likes to remind us that he's a man of learning unfortunately his book disguises the fact. Its a shallow, slight work with delusions of greatness. He reminds me of the medicine men in the old wild west who sold miracle cures. Seligman is the modern day equivalent, a con man selling fake cures for the mind.
The book lurches from page to page. Just when your attention dips, a patronising questionaire pops up asking pointless questions leading to obvious answers. Seligman realises that popular psychology is a lucrative market and cynically he's written a book which is all fluff and no substance. a crude attempt to cash in. I love a book to stir my imagination, challenge my ideas, cause some sort of debate. This is the literary version of Prozac, with similar side effects.
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Practical guidance
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"Learned Optimism" gives a practical way to overcome our pessimism and hopelessness with clear explanations on how to change our mental thinking. I also recommend "Feeling Good Handbook" by David Burns, which offers a cognitive-behavioural approach to overcoming depression and anxiety. "Nexus" a novel by Deborah Morrison & Arvind Singh offers the journey of people attempting to overcome life challenges through equanimity and compassion. The book offers practical wisdom and spiritual depth.
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Pivotal book makes optimism achievable
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Despite equal talent and drive, it turns out that optimists will succeed where pessimists fear to tread. The good news is that you can learn optimism and lean on it to respond to adversity and inculcate greater resilience. Through descriptions of dozens of studies performed since the '70s, author Martin Seligman conveys the history and landscape that define "positive psychology," the science he helped to found. He offers cognitive techniques designed to tweak your natural disposition and give you the advantage of optimism. We recommend this book as a seminal work of positive psychology.
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