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I’m thrilled to have on the podcast Oliver Burkeman, author of The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking.

Oliver is a writer for The Guardian. In his column titled, “This column will change your life”, he explores ideas around social psychology, self-help culture, productivity, and the science of happiness.

The Antidote was one of those books that came at the right time in my life. I was struggling with insomnia, brought on by anxiety….brought on by feeling like I wasn’t achieving enough every day. This book helped me feel a lot more at peace about the “glass half empty” personality I’ve always had. It explains powerful concepts from Buddhism, Stoicism, Eckhart Tolle, Alan Watts (and more) in Oliver’s entertaining, accessible, and lovely writing style.

I am thrilled and honored he took the time to be on the show!

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why traditional “positive thinking” doesn’t work
• The downside of goal-setting
• Embracing uncertainty
• Meditation
• Whether thinking too much makes you depressed
• The answers he’s still looking for…
• and more!

You can find Oliver on his website and  Twitter (let him know you liked this interview!) And of course, you should buy his wonderful book.

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Podcast music attribution: Bust This Bust That (Professor Kliq) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0