Book Review: Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life by Gary John Bishop

Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life by Gary John Bishop

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Review is also available on my site: https://roxannacross.com/2025/07/25/b...

This personal development title is available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook formats, as well as at your local library through the Libby App. The audiobook is narrated by the author, his Scottish accent adding nuance to the material, somehow making it resonate more deeply with listeners without requiring any emphasis.

In his book, Bishop leads readers and listeners through a series of assertions:
1. I am willing
2. I am wired to win
3. I got this
4. I embrace the uncertainty
5. I am not my thoughts; I am what I do
6. I am relentless
7. I expect nothing and accept everything

Bishop’s tough love approach teaches us to move past our self-imposed limitations and provides us with tools to overcome our negative self-talk.

By asserting ‘I am willing’ as opposed to ‘I will’, we are concretely making a choice to change something today instead of sometime in the unknown future. Admitting our ‘unwillingness’ to continue with a particular situation prompts us to make changes to improve it. Bishop goes on to explain that our brains are wired to win; it is up to us to decide what we want to achieve and aim for it. ‘I got this’ is a great mantra to repeat to ourselves in moments of doubt to boost us back up so we don’t give up on our goals. Humans tend to shy away from the uncertain; Bishop’s philosophy is the opposite. He says to embrace it with open arms. Stop making excuses. No Buts. Step into that darkness and tackle it. Thoughts, negative, positive, bad, good, are just that, thoughts. What’s important to remember is what you do. For example, it’s all well and good to think about exercising, but it’s the doing that counts. Be relentless in your endeavors, never give up, and keep going even if people around you tell you that you are crazy. Here, Bishop uses the example of Arnold Schwarzenegger as a young boy in Austria dreaming of coming to America to be a movie star, and how he would have been perceived by his peers, his parents, and still, how Arnold persevered to accomplish all that he has. Expecting nothing and accepting everything doesn’t mean it’s a life of submission; instead, it means we’re living in the moment. Expecting nothing is embracing our situation as it comes. Accepting everything doesn’t mean we’re okay with it or agree with it; instead, it means we acknowledge it and take responsibility for it. The hidden expectations we carry within are roadblocks we must unpack to discover our reality; otherwise, we will remain trapped in a mirage of a life. Our subconscious is the puppet master that pulls the strings. Bishop tells us we can regain control by owning and taking charge and letting go of our expectations.

Bishop’s advice, delivered in a no-nonsense manner, is simple, realistic, and manageable. He provides quotes from Socrates, Marcus Aurelius, Theodore Roosevelt, Napoleon Bonaparte, and others to add punch to his message, stating that we should seize the moment, reminding us that we are not our thoughts, and to take charge of our lives. Nothing in his book is rocket science; it’s just basic logic applied in different ways. The fact that what he preaches is doable is what makes this book a 4-star read or listen.



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