The World's Best Book Summaries
Does your mindset need a do-over? Does your worldview truly make you happy? Vishen Lakhiani helps people achieve their personal and spiritual development goals. In his book The Code of the Extraordinary Mind, he writes that—just as you can keep upgrading a computer—you can continuously upgrade your mind. Continue reading to get Lakhiani’s strategies for lifelong personal growth.
What’s holding you back from achieving your biggest goals? Why might your positive thinking actually be working against you instead of helping you? Gabriele Oettingen’s Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation challenges the common belief that visualizing success is enough to reach your goals. Her research shows that positive fantasies often backfire, and she offers a practical alternative. Continue reading for an overview of this book that will give you a fresh perspective.
What is mental contrasting? Do you want to turn your dreams into reality instead of just daydreaming about them? In Rethinking Positive Thinking, Gabriele Oettingen explains what mental contrasting is, presenting it as a powerful strategy that goes beyond positive thinking. By envisioning your desired future and then identifying obstacles in your present reality, you create productive tension and, ultimately, motivation. Keep reading to discover how mental contrasting can transform your approach to goal-setting and help you overcome the internal barriers that truly hold you back.
Why does daydreaming about success sometimes leave you less motivated to achieve it? Can harnessing both positive and negative thoughts create a more effective path to reaching your goals? Positive thinking and motivation have a complicated relationship. In her book Rethinking Positive Thinking, Gabriele Oettingen reveals how pleasant fantasies about future success can actually undermine your drive to accomplish your dreams. She offers a different approach. Keep reading to discover how you can transform feel-good daydreams into real-world achievements.
Is your intuition leading you astray? How can you make better life choices using hard data instead of gut feelings? In his book Don’t Trust Your Gut, Seth Stephens-Davidowitz reveals that data-based decision-making is far more reliable than human intuition. He explains how our minds are full of cognitive biases and how we’re easily misled by exceptional stories that we mistakenly believe represent the norm. Keep reading to discover how researchers are determining which choices actually lead to positive outcomes.
What activities truly make people the happiest? How can you maximize your daily joy through deliberate choices? In his book Don’t Trust Your Gut, Seth Stephens-Davidowitz reveals that the most effective happiness activities aren’t passive pastimes but active engagements. The data further shows that these activities compound when they’re combined, creating an even stronger positive impact on your life. Keep reading to discover the five activities that can make you happy, and learn how to blend them for maximum joy.
What’s the book Attention Span about? Do you feel overwhelmed by the pressure to be productive? In her book Attention Span, Gloria Mark draws from decades of research on how the human brain spends its mental energy, the many ways we become distracted, and how our capacity to focus fluctuates. She also explores the different modes of attention and how we can reclaim our attention from the distractions of the modern world. Read more in our brief Attention Span book overview.
What actually makes relationships last? Is traditional dating advice steering you in the wrong direction? In his book Don’t Trust Your Gut, Seth Stephens-Davidowitz reveals surprising data about how to be successful in love. His research shows that conventional attractiveness has little impact on relationship longevity, and he shares what makes you four times more likely to find lasting love. Keep reading to discover what you can do to transform your romantic future.
What are the different types of attention in psychology? What purpose does each of these attention modes have? Gloria Mark’s book Attention Span explains the different types of attention and the internal factors that shape them. These modes of attention wax and wane over time, so instead of fighting against certain types of focus, your goal should be to balance them to sustain your cognitive reserves. Continue reading to learn about attention’s highs and lows in each state.
What exactly makes insight different from ordinary learning? How can understanding these differences help us experience more breakthrough moments in our thinking? In his book Seeing What Others Don’t, Gary Klein identifies three key characteristics of insight and debunks three common myths. Understanding what insight is helps us recognize when we’re experiencing genuine breakthroughs and creates conditions where insights are more likely to occur. Keep reading to learn what insight is and what it isn’t.