![]() ![]() By learning to admit and perhaps even to enjoy the changing nature of human life, we can stop fighting against it, “struggling to find security, permanence, fixity, and stability” (p. What Burkeman – supported by thinkers such as Heraclitus, Confucius, and Alan Watts, and explored partially through a visit to Africa and an analysis of airline safety in this age of terrorism – suggests is that we accept insecurity. People tend to want to feel secure, and seem to believe that means they are secure. Feeling secure is not the same thing as actually being secure. 131, italics original) The emphasised word in that quote hints at where Burkeman is going. They may even have the opposite effect.” (p. 129) The problem is that “the strategies that are designed to bestow a feeling of security often don’t leave us more secure. ![]() And yes this quest to feel secure doesn’t always lead to security, still less to happiness.” (p. Burkeman writes, “a staggering proportion of human activity – in politics, business, and international relations, as much as in our personal lives – is motivated by the desire to feel safe and secure. In the chapter on insecurity, for instance, Burkeman takes on what may be an especially modern-day problem (in part due to a loss of religious beliefs): our desire for secure, complete knowledge. The Antidote is different in that there are just eight chapters and in every one, Burkeman takes on a subject and explores it in detail, often by interviewing people, reading and analysing popular and academic books, and investigating the subject in a personal way (such as by going to a motivational talk). ![]() It was possible to read a page or two at a time and to get a new idea fairly quickly. ![]() His previous book, Help! How to Become Slightly Happier and Get a Bit More Done, was comprised of some of his columns and thus each section was quite short. They use academic research in an accessible way as support in order to suggest that readers reconsider their assumptions and find new ways of thinking and being. Such books are not about positive thinking, finding partners, and getting promotions at work they do not offer facile instructions for living a happy, easy life. The Antidoteīurkeman, who writes for the Guardian, including the great weekly column This Column Will Change Your Life, is the lead writer in what I call the “anti-self-help self-help” genre or even “beyond-self-help self-help”. Burkeman is a funny writer, even as he discusses serious, even life-changing, topics. For example, he might try calling out the names of tube stops in order to face his fear of embarrassment, or he might spend a week silently meditating from 5.30 am to 9.30 pm, while harsh self-criticism or, perhaps even worse, Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” intrude on his thoughts. In his latest book, The Antidote, Burkeman entertainingly entwines research into different philosophies for living (Stoicism, Buddhism, the memento mori, etc) with the stories of his own attempts at trying them out. Many self-help books would shout ‘Yes!’ in answer to those questions. Should we all be striving towards happiness? Should we think positively? Should we try to ignore any difficult thoughts, feelings, or situations that arise? Is certainty the way forward in life? ![]()
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