The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking - Oliver Burkeman

Self-help books do not appear to be effective. Few of modern life's many benefits appear capable of raising our collective mood. Even if you can obtain it, wealth does not always lead to happiness. Romance, family life, and career can all cause as much stress as they do delight. You can't even agree on the definition of "happy." So, are you pursuing a fruitless goal? Or are you simply going about it incorrectly?

Oliver Burkeman introduces us to a unique group of people who share a singular, strange way of thinking about life in reports from the past and from far abroad, looking both east and west. They contend whether they are experimental psychologists, terrorism specialists, Buddhists, hardheaded business strategists, Greek philosophers, or modern-day gurus, that in our personal lives and in society as a whole, it is our incessant striving to be happy that is making us unhappy. And that there is an alternative path to happiness and success that requires embracing failure, pessimism, insecurity, and uncertainty, all of which we spend our lives avoiding. The Antidote is the educated person's guide to comprehending the much-misunderstood concept of happiness. It is thought-provoking, counterintuitive, and ultimately uplifting.

This is a self-help book written for those who despise self-help books. Not everyone is wired to respond positively to the promise of happiness. The film "The Antidote" takes a more existential stance. This book investigates how accepting some negative feelings and experiences as a part of life can be uplifting. Many people discover that certain parts of life, such as money, romance, and family, do not totally satisfy them. While this does not apply to everyone, this book is created specifically for persons whose happiness is based on other factors.

Pros:

• helpful and clear writing and storytelling
• new approaches

Cons:

• too academic