The Antidote Audiobook By Oliver Burkeman cover art

The Antidote

Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking

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The Antidote

By: Oliver Burkeman
Narrated by: Oliver Burkeman
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The Antidote is a series of journeys among people who share a single, surprising way of thinking about life. What they have in common is a hunch about human psychology: that it’s our constant effort to eliminate the negative that causes us to feel so anxious, insecure, and unhappy. And that there is an alternative "negative path" to happiness and success that involves embracing the things we spend our lives trying to avoid. It is a subversive, galvanizing message, which turns out to have a long and distinguished philosophical lineage ranging from ancient Roman Stoic philosophers to Buddhists. Oliver Burkeman talks to life coaches paid to make their clients’ lives a living hell, and to maverick security experts such as Bruce Schneier, who contends that the changes we’ve made to airport and aircraft security since the 9/11 attacks have actually made us less safe. And then there are the "backwards" business gurus, who suggest not having any goals at all and not planning for a company’s future.

Burkeman’s new audiobook is a witty, fascinating, and counterintuitive listen that turns decades of self-help advice on its head and forces us to rethink completely our attitudes toward failure, uncertainty, and death.

©2012 Oliver Burkeman (P)2013 Audible, Inc. Psychology & Mental Health Thought-Provoking Psychology Personal Development Personal Success Inspiring Motivation & Self-Improvement Anthropology Career Career Success
Philosophical Depth • Counterintuitive Insights • Authentic Narration • Well-researched Content • Practical Wisdom

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The book offer some different views and is well narrated. The ending was a bit of a let down with no clear actionable take aways.

Excellent narration. Interesting point of view.

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I found think view on positive a negative thoughts refreshing in a sea of positive goal oriented self torture. Off to learn more about stoicism. -John

Thought invoking.

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The Book was so good I listened twice. I highly recommended this for young adults

Good read

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Everyone wants a simple answer, especially to unanswerable questions. This book addresses the limitations of the" positive" (ie. logical,intellectual,step-wise,optimistic) perspective on life and spins the problems and us around to view adversity from multiple different viewpoints. This buffet of ideas offers you the flexibility to address your challenges creatively and with a individualized approach. Your dance in life can shift with the music.

No advice here

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Great research and persuasive evidence/arguments. Loved hearing Burkeman narrate as well! This is indeed a nice remedy for all the treacle about positive thinking (and a good companion to Bootstrapped)

the power of negative thinking!

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