A psychologist friend of mine once said about the book Vivre! Dans un monde imprevisible (Living! In an Unpredictable World): “It beautifully summarizes the mood we’re in and what we’ve been through.” The book, written by the French thinker Frederic Lenoir, starts with Carl Gustav Jung’s words: “Crises, shocks, and illnesses do not occur by chance. They serve as indicators for us to correct this course, discover new directions, and experience a different path in life.”
Inspired by Buddhists, Stoics, as well as philosophers like Montaigne and Spinoza, supported by neuroscience and psychology, the book, which is thin in pages (58 pages), but dense in content, originates from the physical, sociological, and psychological destruction experienced during the pandemic. As individuals, what did we do while living through this unpredictable crisis? Afterwards, how did we shape our individual and social lives?
The main question of the book is: How can we live in the best possible way during times of crisis and how can we come out of these crises in our favor?
The pandemic has come and gone, but of course, we continue to face many unpredictable crises in our personal lives. So, how do we manage them—how can we manage them? The book explains how we can do that. For example, paying full attention to any task we do—whether it’s reading this book or cooking—turns out to be essential for the emotional balance and well-being of the brain. If someone does a task while thinking of something else or multitasking, they will experience a lack of dopamine and serotonin. Thus, focusing entirely on the task at hand is the key to happiness. This is the scientific equivalent of what personal development books mean when they say, “live in the moment.”
Also, no matter what you go through, learn to differentiate what is within your control. We have control over what is within our power—what our actions determine—but there are things happening outside of us that we must accept and shape the rest of our lives accordingly. This easy-to-read, easy-to-understand book opens a nice window for readers in these unpredictable times of the world, offering a way to continue living without “complaining or lamenting.”
ARE YOU AN IMPOSTER TOO?
“You have no special qualities; you’re where you are because of luck, connections, or working harder than everyone else. When you are successful—almost always—you tell yourself that anyone could do it. You were just in the right place at the right time.”
Have you ever felt like this in your life? Or are there people around you who can’t truly accept that their success is actually a success? The overly humble ones who think, “Anyone else in my place would’ve done the same thing…” Well, this is exactly Imposter Syndrome!
The sentence I quoted at the beginning of this text is from The Imposter Cure, a book written by Clinical Psychologist Jessamby Hibberd.
According to Hibberd’s research, imposter syndrome is very common. So, what exactly is Imposter Syndrome? Let me explain: It is the name given to the feeling of inadequacy regarding one’s own achievements and the constant, inner fear that “sooner or later, the truth will come out.”
In the book, various versions and symptoms of this syndrome are discussed. It helps you identify and understand yourself, and then provides techniques and exercises to overcome the syndrome. The book also explores the connections between perfectionism, fear, and insecurity with this syndrome. While reading, I noticed my own little acts of imposter behavior, and it was really enlightening for me.
