Post: #1

Recommended.

Post: #2

Did it help you at all? What is your take on the book?

Post: #3

I recently finished it.

If you are interested in Stoicism, Buddhism, and REBT among other things (See Dusty's thread on "Guide to Rational Living"), it's worth checking out. The author visits and speaks with Albert Ellis who wrote "Guide to..."
There is a chapter that relates to a book that Roosh has mentioned in the past, "Making Friends with Death." The book also covers Alan Watts, another name I've seen on the forum.

I have read books on each of the topics above but I still found this book useful ("The Antidote").

Below is the table of contents:

On trying too hard to be happy
What would Seneca do? : the Stoic art of confronting the worst-case scenario
The storm before the calm : a Buddhist guide to not thinking positively
Goal crazy : when trying to control the future doesn't work
Who's there : how to get over your self
The safety catch : the hidden benefits of insecurity
The Museum of Failure : the case for embracing your errors
Memento mori : death as a way of life
Negative capability.

Post: #4

I have depression so I tend to naturally think negatively. Is this a different type of negative thought? Depressive thoughts are the cognitive distortions mentioned in Ellis and Burn's books.

Post: #5

(08-19-2015 11:54 AM)kbell Wrote:  I have depression so I tend to naturally think negatively. Is this a different type of negative thought? Depressive thoughts are the cognitive distortions mentioned in Ellis and Burn's books.

Yes, it's definitely not suggesting to think "negatively" as in cognitive distortions. It's consistent with Ellis and Burns (Ellis is interviewed in the book and his material is favorably presented).

As far as "Negative Thinking", the book for example looks at Stoicism where a Stoic would suggest thinking, "What's the worst that can happen?" and seeing that it's really not that bad. This again relates to Ellis whose thought to some extent is inspired by the Stoics.

Post: #6

Sounds like a negative book.

Post: #7

Chaos
I can't tell if you are being sarcastic

In case you are not, much of this book is consistent with content I've read on the forum, such as not worrying about the outcome, more action/less thinking, being in the present, and like I said, several chapters are connected to threads or blog posts I've seen here.

For people who like Tony Robins "Unleash the Giant" style advice, this is not the book for them.

If you're interested in things like Stoic Philosophy, Albert Ellis, Alan Watts, Buddhism and non-attachment then the book is worth checking out.

https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/19...e-thinking

Post: #8

A very good thing that is described in this book.

I have experienced the same - man is the most happy when he can accept reality whatever it is. In this state a man also feels the beaty of existance even if it is harsh.

The ratializations common pople go trough that is supposed to shield them from real life is that makes them disconnected from reality and unhappy.

Post: #9

Roosh:

http://www.returnofkings.com/3243/its-be...n-optimist

Quote:It’s Better To Be A Pessimist Than An Optimist

In addition to the brilliant lecture above, the Wall Street Journal has a great article that reviews why pessimistic thinking is helpful…

One pioneer of the “negative path” was the New York psychotherapist Albert Ellis, who died in 2007. He rediscovered a key insight of the Stoic philosophers of ancient Greece and Rome: that sometimes the best way to address an uncertain future is to focus not on the best-case scenario but on the worst.

Seneca the Stoic was a radical on this matter. If you feared losing your wealth, he once advised, “set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with coarse and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: ‘Is this the condition that I feared?’ ”

[…]
Just thinking in sober detail about worst-case scenarios—a technique the Stoics called “the premeditation of evils”—can help to sap the future of its anxiety-producing power. The psychologist Julie Norem estimates that about one-third of Americans instinctively use this strategy, which she terms “defensive pessimism.” Positive thinking, by contrast, is the effort to convince yourself that things will turn out fine, which can reinforce the belief that it would be absolutely terrible if they didn’t.

[…]
Goals may even lead to underachievement. Many New York taxi drivers, one team of economists concluded, make less money in rainy weather than they could because they finish work as soon as they reach their mental target for what constitute a good day’s earnings.

More people are waking up to the fact that positive thinking doesn’t work. It has never worked. Instead, it diverts energy from putting in hard work and transfers it to daydreaming about an outcome that requires much more than just mental thought. Positive thinking is great if you want to set yourself up for one disappointment after another.

Many people tell me that I’m pessimistic, and I take it as a compliment, because it’s that pessimism which has allowed me to accept and endure tough spells in life to push through to the other side. If I didn’t get my mind ready to tackle a big problem, how would I keep my composure to face it? Instead I hope for the best but expect the worst. This old saying perfectly captures how a pessimistic person approaches life.

Post: #10

CEO, thanks for the recommendation. Have you checked out Barbara Eihrenreich's book "Brightsided"? It is the exact same topic.

Post: #11

(08-19-2015 01:29 PM)The_CEO Wrote:  If you're interested in things like Stoic Philosophy, Albert Ellis, Alan Watts, Buddhism and non-attachment then the book is worth checking out.

Hmm, this sounds right up my alley

Post: #12

(08-20-2015 12:21 PM)TigerMandingo Wrote:  CEO, thanks for the recommendation. Have you checked out Barbara Eihrenreich's book "Brightsided"? It is the exact same topic.

I didn't know about it before you mentioned it but I will. Thanks.