Recommendations based on "The Act of Living What the Great Psychologists Can Teach Us about Surviving Discontent in an Age of Anxiety"
Based on your reading history, we think you will also enjoy the following books.
By Cal Newport
Most of us know that addiction to digital tools is costing us both productivity and peace. But giving them up completely isn't realistic.We're addicted to texting, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter not because we're stupid or shallow, but because they provide real value in the form of connection, community, affirmation, and information. Instagram is how you see new photos of your school friend's baby. Texting is how you let your mum know you're safe in a storm. Twitter is how you hear about breaking news in your industry. But these tools can also disrupt our ability to focus on meaningful work and live fully in the present. Must we choose between one or the other?Newport's answer is no. In Digital Minimalism, he outlines a practical philosophy and plan for a mindful, intentional use of technology that maximises its benefits while minimising its drain on our attention, focus and time. Demonstrating how to implement a 30 day digital detox, this book will help you identify which uses of technology are actually helping you reach your goals, and which are holding back.If you care about improving your effectiveness but don't want to become a Luddite or a social dropout this book can lead you to increased control over your time, attention, and energy and ultimately, a richer life. Read Digital Minimalism and you'll never again mindlessly sacrifice your productivity to clickbait or lose 40 minutes of your evening to your Instagram feed.Cal Newport is a tenured professor of computer science at Georgetown University. He is the author of five books, including So Good They Can't Ignore You and the bestselling Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. Newport's ideas have been published in top print publications, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, the Financial Times and the Guardian, but as a dedicated digital minimalist, Newport has never had a social media account.On Cal Newport's bestselling book Deep Work:'Cal Newport is a clear voice in a sea of noise, bringing science and passion in equal measure' - Seth Godin author of Purple Cow'A compelling case for cultivating intense focus, and offers immediately actionable steps for infusing more of it into our lives' - Adam Grant, author of Originals
By Tj Power
SMALL HABITS TO BOOST YOUR BRAIN CHEMISTRY 'This is the book all parents need in their lives.' - This Morning 'If you want to buy just one book this year to make your life better...Get this one. And live by it.' - Chris Evans, as heard on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show, Virgin Radio 'This book will help you find more motivation, create deeper connections, energise your body and destress your mind.' - Jay Shetty, author of Think Like a Monk 'The best book I've read on this subject.' - Dr. Julie Smith, author of Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? TO BE SOLD IN 19 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES! *** Life can feel overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. Today's fast-paced world leaves many of us struggling with extreme emotional highs and lows caused by chemical imbalances in our brains, brought on by the pressures of modern life and constant digital connectivity. In The DOSE Effect, Neuroscientist TJ Power shares how you can reset and balance your brain chemistry with simple, everyday habits to lead a happier, healthier, and more productive life. Unlock your brain's four key chemicals and discover the powers of: DOPAMINE to get motivated and stay driven OXYTOCIN to build deeper connections with others SEROTONIN to boost your energy and mood ENDORPHINS to destress and find calm TJ's practical approach and straightforward solutions will guide you on an exciting, action-based journey to optimise your brain chemistry and transform your mental health.
By Dr. Annie Zimmerman
From psychotherapist and TikTok personality Dr. Annie Zimmerman comes a toolkit to transform yourself and your relationships, with advice on how to heal past trauma, build sustainable connections, and take ownership of your mental health. Every day, psychotherapist Dr. Annie Zimmerman meets clients in her private London practice who are struggling with their lives. They’re committed to achieving personal growth, making changes—but they’re struck at the question stage. They ask her: Why can’t I sleep? Why do I keep going back to a bad relationship? Why did I lose my temper? What is wrong with me? Here’s the thing: nothing is wrong with them. It’s just that they’re asking themselves the wrong questions. In Your Pocket Therapist, Dr. Zimmerman helps readers delve into their past to identify old, unhelpful patterns and teach them how to unlock the present. The book combines practical tools with anecdotes gleaned from the therapy room, distilling complex psychological concepts with her signature warmth and empathy. Her belief—galvanized by her hundreds of thousands of followers—is that if we learn to understand the roots of our suffering, we can bring about meaningful—and permanent—change in our lives. It comes down to learning how to ask the right questions. A brilliant, necessary toolkit for those who want to break free from past patterns and embrace a life of abundant self-awareness and connection, Your Pocket Therapist is an absolute must-read in the field of psychology.
By James Kingsland
By the longtime Guardian science journalist, a groundbreaking exploration of the science of enlightenment and mental wellness, illuminated by twin perspectives, ancient and modern: the spiritual wisdom of Siddhartha Gautama and the revelations of today’s scientists, who are confirming the Buddha’s profound insights into the human mindIn the fifth century BCE, in northern India, Siddhartha, the wandering sage who became the Buddha, developed a program, rooted in meditation and mindfulness, for mastering the mind and achieving lasting peace and contentment. Twenty-five centuries later, humans have transformed everything about our world—except our brains, which remain the same powerful yet flawed instruments possessed by our ancestors. What if the solution we seek to the psychological problems of life in the digital age—distraction, anxiety, addiction, loss of deep meaning—had already been worked out by the Buddha in ancient India? Appealing to readers of Eastern wisdom and Jon Kabat-Zinn, as well as to fans of bestsellers by Oliver Sacks and Malcolm Gladwell, acclaimed science writer and practicing Buddhist James Kingsland reveals how scientists are now unlocking the remarkable secrets of Siddhartha’s brain.Moving effortlessly between science and scripture, Kingsland charts Siddhartha’s spiritual journey and explains how new research by leading neuroscientists and clinical psychologists—many of whom are interviewed in these pages—suggests that mindfulness practice reconfigures our brains to make us sharper, smarter, healthier, and happier, and that it can help treat stress, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, hypertension, and substance abuse. There have even been hints that meditation can enhance immune function, slow cellular aging, and keep dementia at bay. Featuring six guided meditations, Siddhartha’s Brain is a practical and inspiring odyssey of mind and spirit.“Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think.”—Siddhartha
By Nicole Vignola
Change your mind to change your life—discover the neuroscience of a better you in this revolutionary book from neuroscientist and online sensation Nicole Vignola that teaches you how to rewire your brain to achieve peak mental wellbeing.Are you stuck in a habit of believing you are not good enough?Do you fixate on a particular story about yourself that you wish you could change?Are negative beliefs holding you back from reaching your fullest potential?Do you sometimes feel like it’s just too hard, or too late, to change?If any of this sounds familiar, you need Rewire, your personal guide to understanding the neuroscience of why you are subconsciously programmed to repeat certain habits and how you can do, or undo, any type of behavior to be the person you want to be.BREAK THE CYCLE, ALTER YOUR THOUGHTS AND CREATE LASTING CHANGEIn clear language, neuroscientist Nicole Vignola demystifies the science of breaking bad habits and how to make good ones, the principles of neuroplasticity, and neurohack methods for changing behavioral patterns. In the end, she helps you to see yourself in a different way and control how you react to any life situation, from overcoming negative, limiting beliefs to managing stress and achieving peak mental wellbeing.Think of your brain as your hardware and your mental health as your software. Your hardware must work well before you can upgrade your software; Once you learn the fundamentals of rewiring your brain, you can instill new habits, shift your mindset, and change unwanted behavior to create the best version of yourself.We all have habits and behaviors that hold us back from reaching our fullest potential. This book will help you see that you are not stuck, that you can rewrite your story—and shows you how.
By Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Providing an introduction to "flow," a new field of behavioral science that offers life-fulfilling potentialities, this study explains its principals and shows how to introduce flow into all aspects of life, avoiding the interferences of disharmony
By Jasmin Harsono
Harness the power of your own hands and use reiki techniques at home - to harmonise and heal.A reiki session produces a feeling of radiance and a sense of calm, peace, security, and harmony of body and mind. It can also alleviate pain and treat stress and anxiety. The practice is intuitive - tuning into internal energy, laying hands on or close to targeted areas of the body to identify blockages and using placement and pressure to encourage a healthy flow of life energy. The results can be transformative.There is so much more to reiki than the hands-on body work that it is most known for. Here we give you over 50 self-reiki techniques and exercises that you can use anytime, anywhere. Connect with the universal energy and come home to your true self - using meditation, mantra, visualisation, breathwork, and distant as well as hands-on healing.This ancient Japanese hands-on healing system is gaining interest and popularity as more people turn to Eastern medicine - in particular, Japanese wellness traditions - for inspiration. And the more you can do at home, outside of visits to a therapist, the more benefits you will enjoy.
By Eli R. Lebowitz
Parenting an anxious child means facing constant challenges and questions: When should parents help children avoid anxiety-provoking situations, and when should they encourage them to face their fears? How can parents foster independence while still supporting their children? How can parents reduce the hold their child's anxiety has taken over the entire family? Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD: A Scientifically Proven Program for Parents is the first and only book to provide a completely parent-based treatment program for child and adolescent anxiety. Parents will learn how to alleviate their children's anxiety by changing the way they themselves respond to their children's symptoms--importantly, parents are not required to impose changes on their children's behavior. Instead, parents are shown how to replace their own accommodating behaviors (which allow anxiety to flourish) with supportive responses that demonstrate both acceptance of children's difficulties and confidence in their ability to cope. From understanding child anxiety and OCD, to learning how to talk with an anxious child, to avoiding common traps and pitfalls (such as being overly protective or demanding) to identifying the ways in which parents have been enabling a child's anxious behaviors, this book is full of detailed guidance and practical suggestions. Worksheets are included to help parents translate the book's suggestions into action, and the book's compassionate and personable tone will make it a welcoming resource for any concerned parent.
By Alan Watts
A revelatory primer on what it means to be human and a mind-opening manual of initiation into the central mystery of existence, by “perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West" (Los Angeles Times). At the root of human conflict is our fundamental misunderstanding of who we are. The illusion that we are isolated beings, unconnected to the rest of the universe, has led us to view the “outside” world with hostility, and has fueled our misuse of technology and our violent and hostile subjugation of the natural world. To help us understand that the self is in fact the root and ground of the universe, Alan Watts provides us with a much-needed answer to the problem of personal identity, distilling and adapting the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta.
By Epictetus
The complete surviving works of Epictetus, the most influential Stoic philosopher from antiquity. “Some things are up to us and some are not.” Epictetus was born into slavery around the year 50 CE, and, upon being granted his freedom, he set himself up as a philosophy teacher. After being expelled from Rome, he spent the rest of his life living and teaching in Greece. He is now considered the most important exponent of Stoicism, and his surviving work comprises a series of impassioned discourses, delivered live and recorded by his student Arrian, and the Handbook, Arrian’s own take on the heart of Epictetus’s teaching. In Discourses, Epictetus argues that happiness depends on knowing what is in our power to affect and what is not. Our internal states and our responses to events are up to us, but the events themselves are assigned to us by the benevolent deity, and we should treat them—along with our bodies, possessions, and families—as matters of indifference, simply making the best use of them we can. Together, the Discourses and Handbook constitute a practical guide to moral self-improvement, as Epictetus explains the work and exercises aspirants need to do to enrich and deepen their lives. Edited and translated by renowned scholar Robin Waterfield, this book collects the complete works of Epictetus, bringing to modern readers his insights on how to cope with death, exile, the people around us, the whims of the emperor, fear, illness, and much more. CUSTOMER NOTE: THE HARDCOVER IS FOR LIBRARIES AND HAS NO JACKET.