Stand Firm: Resisting the Self-Improvement Craze 1st Edition, Kindle Edition

I'm a strange combination of 'I need to be ambitious and get what I want out of life' and 'I want to be happy with who I am and what I have right now because otherwise nothing will ever make me happy'. There are plenty of resources to address the former, but this is the first thing I've seen that really addresses the latter. I have been told time and time again I should start my own business because I have the resources and the 'personality' for it and I feel like a guilty jerk every time I say I don't want to do that. This book helps me accept that I'm happy with some things just the way they are. It's so strange in America to not want to be on the top of everything and be happy with being a really good cog in the machine. This book helped me realize that's ok. I mean I always knew it was ok because it's my life, but it's nice to see it written down. It is absolutely ok to be happy exactly as you are, and I personally think gratitude for the joys in your current situation are the key to happiness. If this is already the way you feel or if you long to stop feeling obligated to be on the hamster wheel of changing yourself, this is a great book. I read super quickly and with high comprehension, and I have to read this again just because it's so different from the typical American ideal of what life should look like and how you can approach dealing with yourself and your faults. This is the absolute best type of self help book!

This book has been an absolute game changer in my life. It’s astounding the number of people I see on my Facebook feed or instagram incessantly questing for happiness. It might come as no surprise that they also happen to suffer from major anxiety and depression. I found myself falling into the same trap, but it’s been so mind opening to just stop caring and just live my day to day life.I love how he points out that many of us go on these journey to find ourselves, ditching family, friends, long term relationships and a paying job to search for something within ourselves. But what happens if you dig and find nothing there? There’s nothing wrong with introspection but the obsession with giving up everything to figure out who we are is a losing battle. We are constantly changing, just look at personality psych. We just need to do our best to accept who we are and be receptive to critiques from others. Understand that relationships are what keep us happy, not travel or extravagant experiences.

l found the material to be refreshing, to the point, sensible and “doable!” I was realizing that years of reading self-help & self-improving books, spirituality practiced, meditation, and Eastern philosophies of a “good life” had not given me the peace of mind or inner peace I was thirsty for. As a result I had become rather resentful toward such endeavors. I came across the book review of Stand Firm & liked it right away. I found Brinkmann views logical & simple & clear.

Not sure Americans will like it/ agree with him .. nice to know there’s a field in psychology that deals with what I always felt is kinda weird in the American culture , the self improvement movement

Vivid19 is clearly displaying our generally selfish nature's.It takes emotional maturity and integrity to stay distancedWhen one is young and full of one's self!

Bought the used version. It's in great condition. About the book: I haven't finished it yet but I really like this perspective!

The author deals with a real issue in today's world, and offers ideas to explore for readers who may feel not in control of their own lives due to the pace of living.

Inspirational reading .

A welcome corrective to the saccharine drivel of commodified "personal development". It may well appeal to you if you have been unfortunate enough to have hosted a visit by the dreaded management consultants or the human resources department.Some choice quotes:"Have we found ourselves? Is it even possible? Is it worth even bothering to try? My answer to all of these questions would be no.""The guide above says 'All of the answers are already within you.' Just think how absurd that actually is. What should we do about climate change? How do you make scones? What is the Chinese for 'horse'? Do I have what it takes to be a good engineer?""He [Rousseau] articulates the idea that being yourself has some kind of intrinsic value. No matter what you are like otherwise, just being yourself is valuable. This - you now know - is not the case. It is - without a shadow of doubt - better to be an inauthentic Mother Teresa than an authentic Anders Breivik. Indeed, being yourself has no intrinsic value whatsoever."If this appeals to you, you won't be disappointed by the book. Brinkmann fleshes this out with some justification, but you get the idea of the tone.

Stand Firm parodies the form of a self-help book, but the parody is much too realistic for my liking. There are some interesting ideas, but these are spread thinly in what is a very thin book. You may learn a thing or two about the Stoics in passing, but you'll also get a fairly random assortment of references which, to my mind, doesn't add up to a coherent argument. The one bit of sound advice that Brinksmann gives is to read a novel instead. Do that. Stand Firm is written (or translated) in a nice, entertaining way, but this is still basically a self-help book for people who think themselves too sophisticated to read self-help books. Stand firm and read that novel.

I've been obsessed and consumed by self-help and perpetual development for as long as I can remember and as a result the only things that I've realised is that I've wasted great swathes of time, money and energy in doing so. Nor am I any happier for it! I found this book while googling 'how to stop relying on self help book's and I found it edifying and positive. It is based largely on Stoic principles and takes the tongue in cheek format of a '7 week's guide such as is prevalent in modern self help books. I did find some bits of it difficult to understand which necessitated re-reading them a few times but overall it was a good book to read and I feel bolstered in continuing to shuck my dependence on self help literature - and maybe even read a novel for a change!

Such a refreshing read in the midst of the self improvement craze! Felt so much calmer after reading it, loved the very Danish almost bleak sense of humour too

Um livro muito interessante no sentido de que promove uma desconstrução de várias ideias de livros de auto ajuda (que costumam ter conteúdo parecido, só muda o título...). Apresenta conceitos que promovem boas reflexões; mesmo se não concordar com tudo o que é dito, é improvável que você não fique ao menos curioso para ver verificar se os preceitos do estoicismo realmente se aplicam. Um ótimo livro, breve e bem escrito. Recomendo!