Review: Wisdom from a reformed emotional idiot
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 2, 2012
Scot Conway used to be an emotional idiot. He says so right here in black and white. And now he's writing a book on becoming an emotional genius. I used to be an emotional idiot, too. I have probably advanced at least to emotional moron. Obviously, I have read a lot about emotions, what they mean, and what to do about them. I didn't know that the author of this book was a reformed emotional idiot until well after I started reading it, but by the time he mentioned it, it was clear to me that he had earned the right to write about emotional genius at least in part by learning the hard way. Then he became a pastoral counselor and learned how to help other people.I haven't gotten all the way through his book yet, but I have already come across some ideas I can immediately put to good use. Nearly all of his ideas are very simple, practical, and expressed is ways that will be easy to remember--once I and all his other readers work past our inherent resistance to change. It's one of those books that must be read at least three times without too much time between readings. And then, of course, we must actually practice in order to follow these simple, practical instructions.After all, simple is not the same thing as easy. Emotions tend to ambush people. It's one thing to understand with the mind what to do in a particular situation and quite another to remember it in time of need. One of the great things about this book is that Conway provides plenty of things to practice in privacy. Not only does he help me recognize some of my emotional shortcomings, but he points out the stinking thinking that causes me to fall short.Once I'm persuaded in my own mind that I need to change my thinking, I can work on it. And succeed. The alternative? I get into an emotional stew and then have someone else urging me to change my thinking. Everyone reading this review ought to know what happens then: I go on the defensive, and the more fervently the other person points out my faults, the more determined I am to stick to my guns. Or perhaps they make their point. In that case, instead of being encouraged that I can do something positive, I simply feel humiliated.I have read lots of books and articles about dealing with emotion. Most of them have been helpful in one way or another. I don't remember anything else that lets me feel like I can actually do anything about my own struggles starting immediately.