The As If Principle: The Radically New Approach to Changing Your Life

by Richard Wiseman Narrated by Ralph Lister

Overview

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.

Editorial Reviews

AskMen.com

"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."

Elle Magazine

"Wiseman contends, when you smile, as the saying goes, the world smiles with you. . . .The as-if principle can help you get motivated, fall in love, avoid anxiety, stay thin, and be more joyous."

From the Publisher

"Drawing from such well-known trials and tests as the Zimbardo prison study and Stanislavski acting method, as well as historical and pop culture figures like Frederick Douglass and Joan Baez. Wiseman makes a convincing argument for the power of action."

"Wiseman contends, when you smile, as the saying goes, the world smiles with you. . . .The as-if principle can help you get motivated, fall in love, avoid anxiety, stay thin, and be more joyous."

“'The most-followed psychologist on Twitter' re-examines the process of creating personal change and growth… By flipping current psychology theories upside down and putting motion before emotion, one can have better relationships, fight depression and anxiety, lose weight and stop smoking (or curb other addictive behaviors), grow more confident, and slow down the effects of aging….[An] intriguing new slant to personal transformation.

Kirkus Reviews

"The most-followed psychologist on Twitter" re-examines the process of creating personal change and growth. Rather than thinking about making changes and trying to act on those new thought processes, Wiseman (Paranormality: Why We See What Isn't There, 2011, etc.) suggests a new approach to changing your life by performing a motion that in turn changes your thoughts. Most self-help books, writes the author, "preach the same simple mantra: if you want to improve your life, you need to change how you think"--positive thoughts will make you happier and bring greater wealth and success. However, Wiseman believes that actions can speak louder than words, so his method, based on research by William James and others over the past century, states that one's behavior causes an emotional response, rather than the emotion being the catalyst for the behavior. Smile and you'll feel happier, feel loving and love will manifest, eat only when your body says "I'm hungry" and lose weight--these are just some of the many arenas Wiseman explores. The data from current research proves that by clenching your jaw, you develop more willpower, and by standing up straight, you become far more confident. By flipping current psychology theories upside down and putting motion before emotion, one can have better relationships, fight depression and anxiety, lose weight and stop smoking (or curb other addictive behaviors), grow more confident and slow down the effects of aging. Throughout the book, Wiseman includes exercises that will "encourage you to actually experience these phenomena rather than just read about them." For those seeking quick change, the appendix includes a list of simple actions with the appropriate positive reaction or expected change stated. For seekers of self-betterment, a mostly intriguing new slant to personal transformation.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169554281
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	01/08/2013
Edition description:	Unabridged

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