The As If Principle

The best-selling author of 59 Seconds challenges popular self-help approaches while counseling readers to take specific actions to improve outlook and circumstances, drawing on scientific findings to demonstrate how simple physical activities, from smiling to walking briskly, can alleviate common challenges.

"Wiseman's The As If Principle explains how to instantly take control of your emotions. Whether it's quitting a bad habit, persevering through a difficult task or achieving your dream self, you can make it happen."

Auteur

Richard Wiseman

Texte du rabat

Tossing out the rule book, Wiseman--a renowned psychologist with 90,000 Twitter followers and 13 million YouTube viewers--presents a radical new insight on how actions have the power to instantly change the way people think and feel.

Résumé
From a bestselling author and the most-followed psychologist on Twitter, this “intriguing new slant to personal transformation” (Kirkus Reviews) shows you how to take control of your life in an instant.

Victorian philosopher William James had a theory about emotion and behavior: It isn’t that our feelings guide our actions (feel happy and you will laugh). On the contrary, it is our actions that guide our emotions (laugh and you will feel happy). This led James to a remarkable conclusion: “If you want a quality, act as if you already have it.”

Roused by James’s astonishing discovery, renowned psychologist and bestselling author Richard Wiseman confirms James’s principle and shows how the self-help genre has for too long put the cart before the horse in trying to help us take control of our lives. Bringing to the table a dazzling array of firsthand experiments, surprising histories, and psychological case studies, Wiseman illustrates in brilliant detail how we can apply this principle in our daily lives:

Smile to become measurably happier

Wash your hands to drive away guilt

Clench your fist to increase your willpower

Eat with your nondominant hand to lose weight

Nod while speaking to become more persuasive

Act like a newlywed to rekindle your marriage

Lively, engaging, and truly mind-changing, The As If Principle is that rare gem that offers real, workable solutions for your day-to-day goals while helping you to instantly take control of your emotions. Whether it’s quitting a bad habit, persevering through a difficult task, or achieving your dream self, The As If Principle can help. Don’t just think about changing your life. Do it.