The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking

About this book

The Antidote is a series of journeys among people who share a single surprising way of thinking about life. What they have in common is a hunch about human psychology: that its our constant effort to eliminate the negative that causes us to feel so anxious insecure and unhappy. And that there is an alternative negative path to happiness and success that involves embracing the things we spend our lives trying to avoid. It is a subversive galvanizing message which turns out to have a long and distinguished philosophical lineage ranging from ancient Roman Stoic philosophers to Buddhists. Oliver Burkeman talks to life coaches paid to make their clients lives a living hell and to maverick security experts such as Bruce Schneier who contends that the changes weve made to airport and aircraft security since the 9/11 attacks have actually made us less safe. And then there are the backwards business gurus who suggest not having any goals at all and not planning for a companys future. Burkemans new book is a witty fascinating and counterintuitive read that turns decades of self-help advice on its head and forces us to rethink completely our attitudes toward failure uncertainty and death.