"If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap whence everyone take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart." - Socrates
One of many quotes found within Unfu*k Yourself, Gary John Bishop's wake up call to anyone who likes to sit within their head and ruminate about how the world is conspiring against them or things are too difficult or we aren't good enough to achieve our goals and dreams. This Socratic quote comes at us in the section titled "I Got This" and the reality is we do got this. We've managed to survive this far into our lives and the fact that you are reading this blog post would suggest you have it far better than most. Access to a computer, the ability to read and understand, and the time to spend a few minutes learning about books or beers.
If anyone of the above points may have struck a nerve or you do have goals in your life that you seem unable to achieve, I'd suggest picking this one up. If you are cynical of this type of book that's cool too but consider opening yourself up to new experiences and allow the thoughts provided here to at least a doorway and see what happens.
So far about half way through and the thoughts of Shunryu Suzuki came floating back into my mind from reading his book years ago. Beginner's Mind. Approach life with beginner's mind and suddenly the negative things that we tell ourselves aren't really as big as we make them out to be. There are a list of things I tell myself that have become habitual self-talk. This book raised the question as to why do I think that way. Why do I think something is out of reach or unobtainable? What is the story I keep telling myself. Beginner's mind. Let's revisit those story lines and consider that winning is right in front of us.