Hannah Aster, Author at Shortform Books

Angela Duckworth: Grit—Book Review

Is Angela Duckworth’s Grit worth all the hype? Is having grit really more important than intelligence or natural talent? Angela Duckworth’s book Grit was published in 2016 and became an instant bestseller—remaining on the New York Times bestseller list for years. Although there have been many criticisms of the book, many swear that Duckworth’s research is revolutionary. Continue reading for our Grit book review including the book’s context, impact, and critical reception.

Who Not How Book Advice: Invest in Personnel

What does the book Who Not How say about investing in personnel? How can spending money to hire more employees benefit you? In their book Who Not How, Sullivan and Hardy give four reasons why you should hire more personnel. They say that having more personnel will grow your business faster, will make you more money, will improve your personal relationships, and will help you optimize your purpose. Here’s why you should invest in more personnel, according to Sullivan and Hardy.

Why You Must Stop Setting Low Goals

Do your low goals help you achieve a higher-level goal? Why should you be picky about which goals you pursue? If you are pursuing a goal that does not directly connect to your high-level goals (e.g. writing a novel or starting a business), you should drop it. Otherwise, you are wasting valuable time that could be spent pursuing your high-level goals. Here is why you should prioritize which goals you spend time on.

Self-Teaching: You Are Your Own Best Teacher

What are the benefits of self-teaching? Do you really learn more through slow, directionless learning? Is there such thing as overlearning? In his book Range, David Epstein asserts that the slow and directionless self-learning process is more effective than structured learning. This is because when you learn on your own, you’re forced to struggle through experimentation—which ultimately leads to a better understanding of the subject matter. Here is why learning through self-teaching may actually be better than taking structured classes.

The Aftermath of the 2016 Presidential Election

Why did the rates of violence increase following the 2016 presidential election? How did the election of Donald Trump invoke white supremacism? In her book Caste, Isabel Wilkerson discusses how the caste system in America led to violence after Donald Trump’s election. According to Wilkerson, many white Americans had been feeling threatened because people of color were gaining more recognition and the election of Trump gave them permission to act on their white supremacist beliefs. Here’s what happened in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election.

How to Overcome Learned Helplessness With Optimism

What is learned helplessness? How can learned helplessness lead to depression and hopelessness? Learned helplessness is when you’re taught that bad things can’t be prevented or controlled. This is a dangerous way of thinking because it makes you give up and suffer through negative events rather than trying to escape or prevent them. Learn how to overcome learned helplessness through grit.

David Epstein: How Innovations Happen

What drives innovation? How does efficiency prevent people from generating innovative ideas? In his book Range, David Epstein explains that trying to work efficiently and seriously—as many scientists and innovators do—will actually make it more difficult to innovate. When you let go of expectations and the fear of failure and experiment for the joy of experimenting, that’s when many breakthroughs tend to happen. Here is how innovation happens, according to David Epstein.

The 3 Reasons to Prioritize Short-Term Objectives

Why is it better to focus on short-term objectives rather than planning for the long term? Should you always have an end goal in mind when pursuing something? David Epstein, the author of Range, explains that it’s better to chase your current opportunities and passions than trying to create a long-term plan. There are three major reasons for this: you will change, you can’t predict the future, and you can’t know if a certain job would even fit you well. Here’s why you should shift your focus to your short-term objectives.

The Legacy of the United States Caste System

Is there still a caste system in the United States? What lasting effects did the caste system of the early United States have? Despite the fact that slavery was abolished in the 1800s, there are still many lasting effects of the racial caste system in the United States. Many Southerners still cling to Confederate symbols and consider the Old South a “Lost Cause,” healthcare has fallen behind because of racial agendas, and Confederate statues are still spread all over the country. In this article, we’ll discuss the ways the caste system has left a lasting impact on the United States.

“How” and “Why” Questions: Which Are More Valuable?

Are “how” or “why” questions more valuable? Which one is more often used in the education system? Although asking both “how” and “why” questions is necessary, “why” questions are more important because they get the recipient thinking. “Why” questions are slow and difficult and increase one’s critical thinking skills. Sadly, they’re not asked enough in schools. Here’s why “why” questions are such valuable learning tools.