Another intriguing idea: Emotions that are concerned with the future (anxiety, fear) or past (shame, grief) are mostly negative. On the other hand, there's only a few negative emotions that are concerned with the present (e.g. boredom). Instead of supressing bad emotions, actively trying to "live in the now" achieves the same.
It's not a new idea, but a very approachable explanation.
(4/x)
The most intriguing idea in the book: Your brain's biological function is to produce (alarming) thoughts, and make you aware of possible threats, likely or unlikely.
We have to accept this function for what it is, and not misinterpret thought-pondering and fear for *actual threats*. It's just our brains playing out worst-case scenarios, which is what they were designed to do. With this attitude, dealing with your thoughts may be easier.
(3/x)
Written in a more technical style ("Engineer your path to happiness"), these books first chapters about worries, fears, and thought-pondering were very accessible.
Very surprisingly, the analytical approach changed towards the end of the book, where Gawdat addresses more philsophical / esoteric questions like death, destiny, and god. It's a weird combination, and the latter parts clearly lack the practical focus.
(2/x)
I've read Mo Gawdat's "Solve for Happy".
For me, the content of those self-improvement books tends to be exchangeable - the appeal of a good book is the *how* it presents the ideas. Only by presenting ideas in an accessible way, they become actually actionable for me. This book was good.
(1/x)
Eric Horwath
Sebastian