The Antidote

Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking

By: Oliver Burkeman

Narrated by: Oliver Burkeman

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 it’s 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 we’ve 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 company’s future.

Burkeman’s new audiobook is a witty, fascinating, and counterintuitive listen that turns decades of self-help advice on its head and forces us to rethink completely our attitudes toward failure, uncertainty, and death.

©2012 Oliver Burkeman (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Truly, an amazing book!

Would you listen to The Antidote again? Why?

I have three times already. Its basic premise is that the cult of positive thinking is not only wrong-minded, but is antithetical to a balanced and satisfied life. The narrator was also amazing!

If you could give The Antidote a new subtitle, what would it be?

Feeling positive about yourself, without all the positive self-talk and affirmations

Enlightening and entertaining

I wondered if this might be an exercise in positive thinking mockery and nothing more, but it's really far from that. Lessons learned from the mistakes of the positive thinking camp are shared, sometimes sardonically, but the real meat of this book is in the detailed examples of the various ways in which people achieve happiness by not focusing on that as the goal.

I love it when an author presents their own work and Oliver Burkeman's reading here is a perfect example of why. He delivers The Antidote in tones both heartfelt and wry, as only someone who's been there and lived that can.

Yes! Finally! Someone feels like I do!

What did you love best about The Antidote?

I love that it was written. So tired of the "just be positive" attitude. It just makes you more depressed. Mr. Burkeman did a great job showing many examples of how the "positive attitude" can do the opposite of its intentions. This was so validating to hear and made me happy!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Antidote?

Just feeling validated in my shared belief that just by thinking positive, you will reach happiness. I love how he talks about being realistic.

Which scene was your favorite?

Painting the picture of the negative effects on positive thinking by using G.W. Bush as an example.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I loved the in depth look at the history of meditation coming to America. How it started, how it shifted over time. I enjoy the way he has looked back into the history of psychology "movements" and considered what worked and what didn't. I've been "working on myself" for over 20 years now and that part of the book alone was very interesting. I've tried so many different methods. I like that he pointed out that Buddhism is neutral and the goal is not to be "happy," but simply acceptance.

Any additional comments?

If you have been frustrated with so many self help books about being positive, and you have tried to change to no avail, this is your book to read.

This is the good stuff

Most self help books leave me with a sense of quiet despair that I can’t live up to their expectations. This one, which is probably the last one I’ll ever read, leaves me with a new understanding and a path to acceptance and content. I loved it.

an uncommonly good book

a refreshing break from the ordinary. the author is witty and makes his point in less than 30 chapters. book held my interest as few do.

Listen Twice Then Decide

Having completed two listens, my review now is less scathing than it would have been following the first. It is well written, and the research seems adequate, I'll give him that. At times it is interesting. But the differences between positive thinking and negative thinking, as Burkeman describes them, are largely semantic, and fraught with contradictions. He is, it seems to me, needlessly dismissive and unkind to advocates of positive thinking, promoting his own thoughts as wisdom dripping with profundity while smearing the thoughts of others as mere homilies. Maybe I will update my review after a third listen.

powerfully simple & clearly stated...

I'm a big fan of the Stoics & this book is a decent extension of those idea(ls) - with quite practical day-to-day applications. I never write reviews but felt I should given the many shifts in thinking this simple book gave me - that other similarly aimed books didn't...

Negative Capability

The problem is not the problem. How we frame the problem in our minds is either the antidote r the actual problem.

Excellent

Not at all what I was expecting. Pleasantly surprised! An insightful & interesting way of looking at things. The reader did a great job, too.

Very Logical Straightforward Commentary

Not intuitive at first but when you think about it makes total sense - very enlightening for me