34 books
—
4 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Insight: Why We're Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps Us Succeed at Work and in Life” as Want to Read:
Insight: Why We're Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps Us Succeed at Work and in Life
by
The first definitive book exploring the science of self-awareness, the meta-skill of the 21st century, Insight is a fascinating journey into everyone's favorite topic: themselves.
Do you know who you really are? Do you ever wonder how other people really see you? Though we are usually confident that we do, we are wrong more often than we think. And if we could see ourselve ...more
Do you know who you really are? Do you ever wonder how other people really see you? Though we are usually confident that we do, we are wrong more often than we think. And if we could see ourselve ...more
Get A Copy
Hardcover, 368 pages
Published
May 2nd 2017
by Currency
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Insight,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about Insight
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of Insight: Why We're Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps Us Succeed at Work and in Life

An excellent apologia for performance review, not an account of the science of self-awareness as claimed in the blurb. This is not Thinking, Fast and Slow for self-awareness.
If you live in the USA, are a managerial worker, and want to get more out of performance reviews then you will get a lot out of this book. Otherwise, if you hoped to learn something about the science of self-awareness, then you will likely be disappointed, because after reading this book I still do not know what that means a ...more
If you live in the USA, are a managerial worker, and want to get more out of performance reviews then you will get a lot out of this book. Otherwise, if you hoped to learn something about the science of self-awareness, then you will likely be disappointed, because after reading this book I still do not know what that means a ...more

I will admit to being pleasantly surprised with the writing. When I raised this at Bookclub, it sounded like everyone else was flabbergasted by this opinion, but I stand by my point as the nearest comparison to a similar book is still that DREADFUL book about Drowning or Grief or whatever. Ugh.
This would have likely earned a 4th star had she not chosen to refer to people as unicorns. But for the most part, her non-original reorganization of recognized neurological-psychology was actually pretty ...more
This would have likely earned a 4th star had she not chosen to refer to people as unicorns. But for the most part, her non-original reorganization of recognized neurological-psychology was actually pretty ...more

I'm a sucker for these books. Let's acknowledge that up front. I'm a career management nerd, so I'm all about books that deal with making yourself a more effective person in whatever field you apply your energies to. There are so many books out there targeted at people looking for this kind of advice, and many of them are abysmally bad. This one's not! It is occasionally deeply irritating, yes. Whomever picks this book up from the little free lending library in which I eventually leave it may ra
...more

Title: Insight
Author: Tasha Eurich
Publisher: Crown Business
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"Insight: Why We're Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps Us Succeed at Work and in Life" by Tasha Eurich
My Thoughts....
This was definitely a wonderful read for anyone wanting to increase their self awareness through scientific finding and some authentic stories that will definitely help in the way you may be perceived. The read will help one in asking the questi ...more
Author: Tasha Eurich
Publisher: Crown Business
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"Insight: Why We're Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps Us Succeed at Work and in Life" by Tasha Eurich
My Thoughts....
This was definitely a wonderful read for anyone wanting to increase their self awareness through scientific finding and some authentic stories that will definitely help in the way you may be perceived. The read will help one in asking the questi ...more

All I can say is...wow.
I came across this book from a post, shared on LinkedIn, by Susan Cain, author of Quiet. I read the post and immediately found out about Tasha's book and ordered it. This is one of the best investments in a book I've ever made.
It so happened that I was in the middle of a performance appraisal where I work, and it was not clear to me that I would be successful in completing it and getting my contract renewed for another year. The principles in this book about how we should ...more
I came across this book from a post, shared on LinkedIn, by Susan Cain, author of Quiet. I read the post and immediately found out about Tasha's book and ordered it. This is one of the best investments in a book I've ever made.
It so happened that I was in the middle of a performance appraisal where I work, and it was not clear to me that I would be successful in completing it and getting my contract renewed for another year. The principles in this book about how we should ...more

My fav quotes (not a review):
-Page 26 |
"self-awareness is the will and the skill to understand yourself and how others see you."
-Page 65 |
"According to Daniel Kahneman and other researchers, our brains secretly and simplistically morph the question from “How happy are you with life these days?” into “What mood am I in right now?”"
-Page 70 |
"flying too low meant the sea would weigh down the feathers and flying too high meant the sun would melt the wax. But against his father’s instructions, Icaru ...more
-Page 26 |
"self-awareness is the will and the skill to understand yourself and how others see you."
-Page 65 |
"According to Daniel Kahneman and other researchers, our brains secretly and simplistically morph the question from “How happy are you with life these days?” into “What mood am I in right now?”"
-Page 70 |
"flying too low meant the sea would weigh down the feathers and flying too high meant the sun would melt the wax. But against his father’s instructions, Icaru ...more

As a school counselor, I am excited to utilize the concepts in this book both personally and with my students. The book is a good balance of research-based exposition as well as behavioral "tools" that are integrated within the chapters and delineated in the extensive appendices. I appreciate Tasha Eurich's focus on behavioral interventions to increase internal and external self-awareness. This is practically a workbook for any individual wishing to make positive personal changes. I recommend th
...more

Fascinating insight
Book is superbly positioned as a classic on self awareness. While Daniel Goleman gets all the credit for popularizing Emotional Intelligence, I think self-awareness didn't get the much needed spotlight it deserves amongst all other components of emotional intelligence. This book serves the purpose of putting the spotlight back on self-awareness and it does a great job at it. Loved all the narratives and stories in the book. Do give it a read. ...more
Book is superbly positioned as a classic on self awareness. While Daniel Goleman gets all the credit for popularizing Emotional Intelligence, I think self-awareness didn't get the much needed spotlight it deserves amongst all other components of emotional intelligence. This book serves the purpose of putting the spotlight back on self-awareness and it does a great job at it. Loved all the narratives and stories in the book. Do give it a read. ...more

“ A better and happier man that I otherwise should have been if I had not attempted it “ Benjamin Franklin
Continuing to understand what makes yourself tick, and how others perceive you can lighten up your path in navigating life.
Insight is filled with many tools, exercises, stories to begin to understand our perceptions of how we see ourselves and others see us.
Continuing to understand what makes yourself tick, and how others perceive you can lighten up your path in navigating life.
Insight is filled with many tools, exercises, stories to begin to understand our perceptions of how we see ourselves and others see us.

Insight: Why We’re Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps us succeed at Work and in Life was recently published this May, 2017. I was first made aware of the book through an article by the New Yorker (if I remember correctly) which spoke about Eurich’s understanding of internal and external self awareness and how we can learn more about it. Considering that I am at a bit of a crossroads in my life at the moment—finished my master’s degree, my birthday is coming up,
...more

There are books that aren’t meant to be consumed in a few days. To appreciate them, you need to absorb them slowly. That was the case with Tasha Eurich‘s book Insight, which took me almost three months to complete! There’s a small part of me that’s ashamed to admit that. It’s the same part that’s ashamed to admit I liked Waterworld.
The problem was I kept stopping to take notes. Notes! Who the heck does that unless they have to? So much of what Eurich wrote in this book resonated with me. Prior t ...more
The problem was I kept stopping to take notes. Notes! Who the heck does that unless they have to? So much of what Eurich wrote in this book resonated with me. Prior t ...more

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review
I find any book that showcases the importance of self-awareness as a part of self-growth, and successful living an important edition to one’s personal library. Some Authors are just better at executing the mission, then others. This one falls more into the latter category.
While the information in Insight is sound and based on a lot of research, I was not so happy about the presentation. Again, as I have mentioned in previous revie ...more
I find any book that showcases the importance of self-awareness as a part of self-growth, and successful living an important edition to one’s personal library. Some Authors are just better at executing the mission, then others. This one falls more into the latter category.
While the information in Insight is sound and based on a lot of research, I was not so happy about the presentation. Again, as I have mentioned in previous revie ...more

Oddly, my copy of this book had a different subtitle. It was:
Insight: The Surprising Truth About How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, and Why the Answers Matter More Than We Think
I'm not sure that the book lives up to either subtitle. It's predominantly war stories from the author's consulting career (so many stories...) with a few take-aways for each chapter. It provides a reasonably cohesive statement on self-awareness (in that the author is for it). More than that, it acts as a kind of pr ...more
Insight: The Surprising Truth About How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, and Why the Answers Matter More Than We Think
I'm not sure that the book lives up to either subtitle. It's predominantly war stories from the author's consulting career (so many stories...) with a few take-aways for each chapter. It provides a reasonably cohesive statement on self-awareness (in that the author is for it). More than that, it acts as a kind of pr ...more

I do love a self help book but as with so many this one is too long. Also I really can't stand the examples you know "Linda, a super successful career woman blah, blah" having said that, I skipped the examples and learnt stuff. We are better off if we have a more accurate sense of how we are and how we appear to other people. We are really bad at judging this. We should live by our core values - good idea to write these down and remind ourselves of them if we feel a bit lost. Mindfulness and med
...more

Jan 31, 2019
Christine Yen
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
recent-favorites
Reasons that a critic might hate this book:
- It's very explicit. There are no real analyses about the psychology or the theory or the "science" behind why we are the way we are; it only offers examples of a pathology and some concrete suggestions for paths forward.
- It's full of personal anecdotes and those of "self-awareness unicorns" (which itself might inspire a hearty eyeroll) for the purposes of illustrating a principle
- It summarizes key points at the end of each chapter, in a very workman ...more
- It's very explicit. There are no real analyses about the psychology or the theory or the "science" behind why we are the way we are; it only offers examples of a pathology and some concrete suggestions for paths forward.
- It's full of personal anecdotes and those of "self-awareness unicorns" (which itself might inspire a hearty eyeroll) for the purposes of illustrating a principle
- It summarizes key points at the end of each chapter, in a very workman ...more

Good ideas for how to achieve self-awareness, but perhaps the exercises could be part of the book, not as appendices. I feel like there were too many anecdotes, especially towards the end, and I'm not sure that Eurich needed to tell so many about herself, either. Also, the anecdotes tended to be primarily about CEOs and other business types, so the stories were rather limited in their scope and relevance to anyone not in the business world. Still, the book was written clearly enough for a broad
...more

Modern life and work do not present enough opportunity to develop self awareness. This book helps out with exercises to develop insight into your own personality. The book provides enough studies and research to make the point. The crux of the book is to work on self awareness and actively seeking critical feedback. These are easier said than done though. But it was still interesting and motivating to focus on self awareness. I plan to put a few of the techniques in use.

This book could have been half as long as it was.
For a book titled "Insight", there was very little substantial "Insight" in the book and a lot of verbiage, repetition and banal self aggrandizing anecdotes. ...more
For a book titled "Insight", there was very little substantial "Insight" in the book and a lot of verbiage, repetition and banal self aggrandizing anecdotes. ...more

Sounds like a thorough analysis of self-awareness and how to increase it.
* Internal self awareness is just know-thyself. External is know how others see you.
* Self-awards requires 7 insights into our own value, passions, aspirations, fit (what environment suits me), internal patterns (how I think and feel in different situations), external reactions (how I reaction in different situations), and impact (my behavior on others).
* There are multiple hurdles to self-awareness: knowledge-, emotional ...more
* Internal self awareness is just know-thyself. External is know how others see you.
* Self-awards requires 7 insights into our own value, passions, aspirations, fit (what environment suits me), internal patterns (how I think and feel in different situations), external reactions (how I reaction in different situations), and impact (my behavior on others).
* There are multiple hurdles to self-awareness: knowledge-, emotional ...more

3.5/5
Insight provides an essential reminder that we are not as self-aware as we think. Rich with research data and evidence, Insight helps us question and examine our behaviour while offering practical ways on how we can do better. I found this book very eye-opening and it made me question whether I’m as self-aware as I thought I was. I appreciated how the author emphasized that becoming more self-aware is an ongoing process that needs to be checked on regularly, and no one is perfect at it. The ...more
Insight provides an essential reminder that we are not as self-aware as we think. Rich with research data and evidence, Insight helps us question and examine our behaviour while offering practical ways on how we can do better. I found this book very eye-opening and it made me question whether I’m as self-aware as I thought I was. I appreciated how the author emphasized that becoming more self-aware is an ongoing process that needs to be checked on regularly, and no one is perfect at it. The ...more

I enjoyed this one and found some useful tips and tricks for eliciting feedback, giving feedback, and the importance (and difficulty) of self awareness. A fair amount of it was a bit counterintuitive... or perhaps counter to what society teaches you about finding your inner self and how to go about it. I’m interested to read more about that and how, for example, journaling doesn’t really work but mindfulness does. I liked the style of writing and the stories and example given. Now I can’t wait t
...more

Excellence, excellence, excellence. Please read if you are a person you wants to become a leaders or if you want to coach somebody else to become one, because leadership is not possible without self-awareness, and this book tackles the issue elegantly and thoroughly in a simple and powerful style. After this book, Tasha has become one of my favorite authors after Roy Baumeister and the Heath Brothers. Did I mention you should read the book?

Self-awareness is the ability to understand who we are and what others think of us, and it consists of seven insights.
Internal self-awareness is about knowing ourselves; being conscious of our likes and dislikes, our ambitions, our place in the environment and our impact on other people.
External self-awareness has to do with understanding how other people see us. It’s about being able to look at ourselves from an outside perspective.
There are 7 types of insights:
1. Insight into our values: pr ...more
Internal self-awareness is about knowing ourselves; being conscious of our likes and dislikes, our ambitions, our place in the environment and our impact on other people.
External self-awareness has to do with understanding how other people see us. It’s about being able to look at ourselves from an outside perspective.
There are 7 types of insights:
1. Insight into our values: pr ...more

Great book. This is a book about self improvement and the obstacles to it. It neatly tackles the problem of self-awareness from many vantage points. I especially enjoyed the part where she explains how and why people rather lie to others faces rather than telling the truth and what it costs to all. And also the comparison of being too analytic versus too aloof, both of which make it impossible to improve oneself. A hopeful point is that according to the writer, some of the a.holes in our lives m
...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Tasha Eurich is an organizational psychologist, researcher, and New York Times best-selling author.
INSIGHT is now available for pre-order.
Dr. Eurich’s first book, Bankable Leadership, debuted on the New York Times bestseller list in 2013, and has since become a popular resource for managers and executives who want to make their employees happy and produce bottom-line results for their business. ...more
INSIGHT is now available for pre-order.
Dr. Eurich’s first book, Bankable Leadership, debuted on the New York Times bestseller list in 2013, and has since become a popular resource for managers and executives who want to make their employees happy and produce bottom-line results for their business. ...more
Related Articles
Speaking with Adam Grant feels like having your brain sandblasted, in a pleasant sort of way.
As an author, professor, and psychologist,...
70 likes · 1 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“There’s a wonderful Chinese proverb that says: “When the winds of change rage, some build shelters while others build windmills.”
—
2 likes
“With the right approach and a true ongoing commitment, you can foster a culture that encourages communication and feedback at all levels; one where honesty trumps hierarchy and even the lowest-ranking member feels safe putting problems on the table.”
—
1 likes
More quotes…