num_pages: 240
description: Why is there such a gap between what you want to do and what you actually do? The host of Ask Science Mike and co-host of The Liturgists Podcast explains why our desires and our real lives are so wildly differentand what you can do to close the gap.For thousands of years scientists philosophers and self-help gurus have wrestled with one of the basic conundrums of human life: Why do we do the things we do? Or rather why do we so often not do the things we want to do? As a podcast host whose voice goes out to millions each month Mike McHargue gets countless emails from people seeking to understand their own misbehaviorwhy we binge on Netflix when we know taking a walk outside would be better for us or why we argue politics on Facebook when our real friends live just down the street. Everyone wants to be a good person but few of us twenty years into the new millennium have any idea how to do that.In Youre a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass) McHargue addresses these issues. We like to think were in control of our thoughts and decisions he writes but science has shown that a host of competing impulses emotions and environmental factors are at play in every action we undertake. Touching on his podcast listeners most pressing questions from relationships and ethics to stress and mental health and sharing some of the biggest triumphs and hardships from his own life McHargue shows us how some of our qualities that seem most frustratingincluding negative emotions like sadness anger and anxietyare actually key to helping humans survive and thrive. In doing so he invites us on a path of self-understanding and ultimately self-acceptance.Youre a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass) is a guided tour through the mystery of human consciousness showing readers how to live more at peace with themselves in a complex world.
language: English
title: You're a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass): Embracing the Emotions, Habits, and Mystery That Make You You
publisher: Convergent Books