The World's Best Book Summaries
Do you often find yourself criticizing others? How does unvoiced criticism erode your relationships with people? Being hyper-critical of others is a toxic mental habit. When you criticize others—even if you don’t voice your criticism—you create unnecessary negativity in your interactions with people. Here’s how criticism damages your relationships and how to stop criticizing others.
Do you have a friend who always complains, judges, and sees things in a negative light? What’s the best way to deal with toxic people? Unconsciously, we adopt the beliefs and habits of people we spend time spend with. Being around toxic people—people who see the world through a negative lens—will make you more like them, no matter your resolve to stay positive. Here’s how to avoid toxic people, according to mind coach Vex King.
What does it mean to live purposefully or intentionally? Do you think you’re living intentionally, or are you just floating through life without direction? According to psychotherapist Nathaniel Branden, when you live with intention, you don’t just react to what happens. You proactively decide what your goals are, create plans to achieve them, and then implement those plans. Here’s how to live with intention.
What’s preventing you from achieving your highest potential? Do you hold any beliefs that are holding you back from living the life of your dreams? To achieve our full potential, we need to overcome our “happiness threshold” (the maximum amount of happiness we allow ourselves to experience). Once you begin nearing your happiness threshold, you become uncomfortable and unconsciously sabotage yourself so you can come back to a comfortable baseline. Overcoming self-limiting beliefs that make up your happiness threshold is the first step to embarking on a life path of happiness, success, and fulfillment. Here’s how to overcome self-limiting beliefs.
Do you self-sabotage by engaging in behaviors you know are holding you back? What are some common self-sabotaging habits to watch out for? Many common behaviors that we tend to think of as natural and normal can actually be signs that we are self-sabotaging in order to undermine our success and happiness. Take some time to reflect on whether any of these rings true for you: 1) you worry habitually, 2) you tend to be critical of others, 3) you can’t accept compliments, 4) you often get sick following positive experiences. Here are four self-sabotaging habits to watch out for.
Do you often find yourself falling down the negative thinking spiral? How do you break the habit of negative thinking? Human beings are creatures of habit. Once you get into the habit of thinking a certain way, it sticks with you. The longer you practice the negative thinking habit—whether consciously or unconsciously—the harder it is to break. Here’s how to break negative thought patterns once and for all.
What is the key to success? How do your ideas of what it takes to achieve success compromise your ability to do so? Many people believe success is a matter of luck, talent, or intelligence. While these things matter, the key to success lies in your mindset. According to Richard Koch, the author of The 80/20 Principle, there are three core beliefs you must internalize to embark on the path of success: 1) major improvements are always possible, 2) it’s your duty to enjoy life, and 3) time is abundant. Let’s examine the mindset shifts you must make to invite
What is the slip-box notes system? How does the slip-box note-taking method help you take better notes? The slip-box notes system (also known as Zettelkasten) was created by German sociologist Niklas Luhmann. The slip-box system is specifically designed to help you both have and share original insights—and make the writing process easier overall—it has several benefits over the traditional writing process: For example, using it will make you more efficient and lead to more creative insights. Here you’ll learn the specific steps to effectively use the slip-box note-taking system to create a publishable manuscript.
Are you feeling unfulfilled in life? Do you feel as though something is missing but can’t quite put your finger on what it is? According to Gay Hendricks, the author of The Big Leap, a sense of dissatisfaction and lack of fulfillment often stems from what he calls the “Upper Limit Problem.” In other words, you’re feeling unfulfilled because you’ve reached a level of success and happiness that you’re not comfortable with. Here’s how success propels you to your happiness threshold, according to Hendricks.
Are you looking for Four Thousand Weeks quotes by Oliver Burkeman? What are some of the key passages worth revisiting? In Four Thousand Weeks, Oliver Burkeman asserts that you and most humans live with the mistaken belief that if you try hard enough and find the right time management solutions, you should be able to gain total control over your time. But according to Burkeman, you’ll never have full control of your time. If you accept this reality—that your time is beyond your control—you’ll be both happier and more productive. Here’s a selection of passages highlighting some of the key ideas.