self-help - Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

Unmasking Adult Autism: The Brain & the Person

By Scott J. Pearson | December 17, 2023December 17, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Is autism a diagnosis with a fixed treatment, or is it a part of the wider human condition, to be treated humanistically? As autism’s prevalence continues to rise, society debates how to do this. In this book, Curtis Youngblood clearly comes down on the humanistic side. Through life experience, he contends that more attention needs to be paid towards helping people to live with autism practically rather than divining some yet-unknown cause or causes. This…

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life & Business

By Scott J. Pearson | March 4, 2023March 4, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Simple, popular, “arm chair” psychology says that life is full of “rational” choices that guide our lives. However, reasoning from human experience and psychological research, we’ve learned that habits guide most of our lives and prevent us from “choice fatigue.” How are we then to make use of habitual practices? In this book, Charles Duhigg analyzes how this impacts our business lives, our personal lives, and our society. He seeks to identify specific ways that…

Psychology

Why We Argue & How to Stop

By Scott J. Pearson | April 3, 2022April 3, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

Many people pridefully take the stance that they don’t need self-help books. “It’s all easy and common sense,” they claim. Often, those people are the very people whose personal relationships are most disordered. In truth, we all can use a little help sometimes, and I often am more receptive when reading it in a book at my own leisure rather than sitting on a therapist’s couch. In this book, Manney brings us to his therapist’s…

Environment

Green Your Routine: A Transition from Mindless Consumerism to Mindful Consumption

By Scott J. Pearson | May 15, 2021May 15, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Many times, pro-environment reforms get labeled as inefficient, expensive, or pie-in-the-sky. A lot of this happens because economic forces want to maintain the status quo. In this work, Abad presents a series of practical steps that can make your lifestyle (i.e., your routine) more environmentally friendly. Together, these simple changes can help the ecosystem – and save you money! For each proposed change, he computes the net-benefit for our planet as well as for your…

Management-Business

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

By Scott J. Pearson | December 28, 2020December 28, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

My boss is so much a fan of this book that she gave it to me free this month. She reads it every year in pursuit of further mastery of her work and life. Although the obvious application is to the realm of employment, Allen’s approach is applicable to one’s personal/private life and even to stay-at-home parents. It’s about keeping the “projects” in one’s life moving forward without causing stress. Allen’s system runs off on…

Management-Business

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.

By Scott J. Pearson | December 25, 2019December 25, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

I often use slow times of the year to read psychologically oriented books that apply to my life. This Christmas, I picked up this book that deals with leadership and being up-front with emotions in the workplace. This book’s author served in the military before getting a PhD in sociology. Her topic of interest is vulnerability as a leadership trait. The influx of women into the American workplace has changed workplace dynamics. This book –…