The World's Best Book Summaries
What gets in the way of spiritual evolution? How can you overcome these obstacles? According to psychiatrist M. Scott Peck, the purpose of life is spiritual evolution. In The Road Less Traveled, he identifies three forces that get in the way: laziness, evil, and the suffering of awareness. An understanding of these obstacles can help you overcome them. Keep reading to learn about these roadblocks to spiritual evolution.
What is the Reproducibility Project? How does it illustrate decision-making under risk? We don’t always think in terms of risk, and maybe that’s why we’re prone to making irrational decisions. But what if we worked on keeping risk at the forefront of our minds? That’s what Thinking in Bets is all about. Author Annie Duke uses the Reproducibility Project as an example of decision-making under risk, showing how thinking in bets can produce more effective decisions. Keep reading to learn about decision-making under risk.
What are action triggers? How can they help with habit formation? We set up action triggers to prompt particular actions. For example, when you’re drinking your first cup of tea in the morning (trigger), you create your goals for the day (action). Setting up action triggers to prompt desirable behavior is foundational in forming habits. Keep reading to learn how to use action triggers to facilitate habit formation.
What is the key to getting people to onboard with an idea? How do communicate an idea in such a way that gets people to not only listen to it, but act on it? If you want people to hear your idea and act on it, show them how they will benefit. Ultimately, you can use this appeal to self-interest to get them to care about something else. Continue reading to learn how to make your message stick with an appeal to self-interest.
What is the relationship between religion and mental illness? Is a belief in God a sign of psychopathology? Psychiatrist M. Scott Peck explores the connection between religion and mental illness in his book The Road Less Traveled. Examining the stories of two different women—one a theist and the other an atheist—Peck determines that dogmatism, rather than particular beliefs, is a more likely cause of psychopathology. Read more to learn about the connection between religion and mental illness.
What’s a personal religion? Do you have one? Whether you realize it or not, you have a personal religion—also known as a worldview. It’s your perception of the world and your relationship to it. You might be hanging on to an inherited worldview that doesn’t reflect reality, causing dissonance in your life. You could benefit from understanding how worldview works—and how to revise your own. Read more to learn about personal religion.
Can you train yourself to embrace uncertainty about your beliefs? How could it make you a better believer? The idea of embracing uncertainty about what you believe can sound scary and even unwise. However, uncertainty can actually make you a better believer. You can learn strategies to leverage uncertainty and cultivate a healthier relationship with your beliefs. Read more to learn how and why to embrace uncertainty.
Is your emotional side stronger than your rational side? How can you leverage your emotional energy to make positive changes? Your emotional side is usually to blame when changes fail. However, your emotional side is stronger than your rational side. If you learn to harness your emotional energy, it can be a major force for positive change. Keep reading to learn how to get your emotional energy moving in the right direction.
Do you have an idea in mind? What is the core message behind your idea? If you have an idea to communicate, you want it to be sticky: you want people to understand it, remember it, and pass it on. The key to doing this is twofold: identifying your core message and making it compelling. Here is how you can distill the core message of your idea and make it stick.
What’s your personal worldview? Is it up to date? Everyone has a worldview. Too often, we don’t think about it, much less cultivate it. Subsequently, we end up with a worldview that is outdated and fails to support our growth. We would do well to understand the importance of worldview and learn how to develop a healthy one. Read more to learn why personal worldview matters and how to revise your own.