The World's Best Book Summaries
Do you have social anxiety? How do you face your fears of being the center of attention? Being seen and heard in public could be terrifying for some people. For Shonda Rhimes, writer of Year of Yes, she had to work hard to overcome her social anxiety to become the acclaimed writer she is now. Check out how to overcome social anxiety fast with Rhimes’s advice.
Do you have a tendency to put things off when they need to be done? Has this become a habit for you? Humans struggle with self-discipline. As a result, we fail to reach our goals. One culprit is the biological tendency to procrastinate. When the tendency becomes a habit, we dig the hole even deeper. But, Daniel Walter offers two practical suggestions for climbing out of this hole. Read more to learn about how the habit of procrastination works against you and your ability to self-discipline—and how to fight back against this force.
What does it mean to listen to your body? How does listening to your body improve your cognitive skills? According to Annie Murphy Paul’s book The Extended Mind, actively engaging with your body means learning how to listen to your body’s subconscious knowledge. Paul argues that listening to your body unlocks a more expansive way of thinking. Read on to learn how to listen to your body to improve your cognitive skills, according to Paul.
Is there a myth behind children’s toys? What symbolic meaning does the Jeep brand carry? According to Roland Barthes, myths occur when society’s dominant institutions imbue an image, object, or phrase with meaning. Because myths are used to shape society, he believes it’s important to understand how myths are created and how they function. Keep reading for Barthes’s ideas on mythmaking.
What is cognitive dissonance? What are the most common ways to reduce cognitive dissonance? In Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me), Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson explain that cognitive dissonance is a psychological state of having inconsistent thoughts and attitudes. This state is often uncomfortable for people, so they try to seek out ways to reduce cognitive dissonance. Let’s look at how people seek comforting thoughts through three psychological processes.
What is the “advice monster?” What’s the problem with advice-giving? How can you tame your advice monster? According to author Michael Bungay Stanier, advice-giving is a widespread habit that many people find difficult to break—a habit he personifies as your “advice monster.” He claims that subduing the compulsion to give advice (i.e. taming your advice monster) is not an easy change to make. Read on to learn more about Stanier’s advice monster and how to break advice-giving habits.
How well do you predict what it will take to reach your goals? Do you give up when you fail to make the progress you expect to make? When we set goals, we also tend to set impossible expectations about reaching them. Then we get discouraged when we don’t hit certain benchmarks along the way. The tendency toward unrealistic expectations connects to a cognitive bias called the planning fallacy. Read more to learn about setting impossible expectations and the planning fallacy.
What makes myths powerful? What’s the relationship between myth and meaning? Roland Barthes says that the images, objects, and stories we’re confronted with throughout the day are myths that contain subtle messages that subconsciously shape the way we view the world. He discusses the two basic elements of myth: form and concept. Read more to understand these basics of myth that inform how it’s used to shape society.
What is memory distortion? Can we change our memories? In Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me), Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson say that one way we overcome cognitive dissonance is through memory distortion. This is when we falsely remember information and events to put ourselves in a good light. Continue reading to learn more about memory distortion.
Do you want to shed your old personality and become a new person? How can you break free from your old ways and begin to think and act in alignment with the vision of the person you want to be? According to Joe Dispenza, our brains have the capacity for neuroplasticity. This means that you have the power to totally rewire your personality and become a whole new person. To do that, you have to ingrain new patterns of thinking, feeling, and behavior. With this in mind, here’s how to become a new person, according to Joe Dispenza.