Mel Robbins book has way too many testimonials. It goes in circles. Entire sections should be cut out. And you absolutely positively must read it.
I get the idea Mel Robbins was rushed to make this book after her wildly successful Ted Talk, and it's a prime example of why nonfiction books need to slim down. There is a reason Blinkist can summarize so many of them so succinctly into five pages. You can almost hear the publisher screaming through Mel Robbins's lessons to, "pad the page count! Copy and paste another testimonial! Make the physical book look like a good value!"
That said, Mel Robbins has content on her side. I have been applying her concepts to my day-to-day life after a serious spat with depression, and it has allowed me to completely turn myself around.
Her central ideas are fairly simple:
1. When you have a good idea to better yourself, do a "5...4...3...2...1..." countdown and get to it. If you give yourself any longer you will make an excuse and psyche yourself out. Once you start moving it's far more likely you'll get working.
2. You will never ever feel like doing anything to better yourself. Motivational speakers are largely full of it. You need to force yourself.
3. "Doing things that scare you actually make you more confident. If you have the courage to take action, your confidence will follow. Every time you push yourself to speak when you’re nervous, act when you’re afraid, or get to the gym when you don’t feel like it, you realize that you can rely on yourself to get anything done." -Mel Robbins
I can say with full confidence that these ideas are correct. I actually have a small learning "disability" which makes me understand subjects very slowly and not feel 90% of the embarrassment others feel. Growing up, I never understood why I succeeded when much smarter people stalled out. Now, I realize all the crucial moments in my career and personal life happened because I forced myself to act, even when I didn't have all the facts, even when failure was a likely option.
As I've gotten older, I've begun realizing my actions have consequences, and it's made me clam up. This had me stalling in my personal and professional development.
Reading this book got me back on track. I've also begun to understand that it is rooted in scientific study, although I wish Mel Robbins provided more info on this.
I've been reading a great deal on diet and exercise lately. What seemingly every expert agrees on is that humans are made to not move much or to just walk, and to overeat. If we ventured outside of our perimeter as prehistoric humans we got killed. We never knew where our next meal was coming from. Overeating allowed us to store fat deposits which we could use later while fasting.
Human nature is lazy and inherently selfish. The 5-Second Rule is the best book I've ever read about getting out of your head and into life.
The sections about anxiety reappraisal are especially fascinating. Be sure to get through some of the slower chapters to get to the analysis of anxiety disorders and how to conquer them. That text really helped me change my days.
Highly highly highly recommended.