Author: Richard Wiseman
| Short 59 Seconds Synopsis |
| 59 Seconds (2019) is a book by Richard Wiseman in which he talks about how people can improve their brain function in just 59 Seconds. To do that, he introduces a few simple but ingenious principles, such as how to conquer procrastination and choose happiness in the present moment. |
Detailed 59 Seconds Summary and Review
Are you struggling with a problem, trying to get somewhere, or just curious about new ways to improve your life? Are you feeling stuck, unhappy, or not good enough? If so, Richard Wiseman is here to help with some of the most powerful tools in psychology – and they’re super simple. He has combined the most important psychological tools into a simple 59-second book that can help you change your life.
There’s no need to spend ten years and thousands of dollars on improving yourself. Using simple psychological tricks, you can pick up the basics — weight loss, creative thinking, and speaking in public. Richard looks at the science of decision-making and how we can live happier, healthier, and more productive lives. We can treat problems and create opportunities by making small changes to our thinking and behavior. One of the fascinating examples of this relates to how we can harness our powers of persuasion by changing our voice tone. Richard says: “The voice you use will automatically embed your intentions into the minds of the other person. So you can use your voice to influence people for good, for bad, or for charity.
Key Points
Thinking about your eulogy for long-term plans is a great way to push yourself towards achieving your goals:
As any visualization technique goes, it effectively achieves its intended outcome. But visualization is not a goal in itself. It’s a tool for helping you accomplish your long-term goals. What is the next step after visualizing your goal? What actions can you take today that will move you closer to your dreams? Visualizing your goal is the first step in creating your eulogy. But chances are, your vision of the future is pretty rosy. You might be picturing at a destination wedding six months from now, standing by your new promotion, or applying for your dream job.
It sounds simple, but it’s an incredibly effective way to motivate yourself. But if you feel like your goals aren’t coming together, or you aren’t getting the results you want in your life, try this exercise: Imagine a world where you’ve already achieved your goals. It’s time for your eulogy. You’ve just died, and your mortal remains are displayed at your funeral. The time has come to reflect on your life.
But that’s just it: they’re dreams. And they’ll remain just that if we never do anything to bring them into reality. Just like a person’s eulogy is full of things they wanted to do but never had the chance, our goals should reflect our aspirations for the future, with the things we want to accomplish in the years to come. This is the core idea behind a concept called personal mission statements, where you condense all your aspirations into a simple sentence or two. For example, my mission statement is “To inspire people to live more meaningful lives.” That’s all it says, but it sums up what I want out of life and what I need to do to get there.
Stop brainstorming, and go ahead with your ideas to execute them:
Creativity is hard, but you’d never know it by looking at the questions we ask ourselves when we’re trying to come up with great ideas. Many people are familiar with hypnagogic naps – that moment of drowsiness when you get a fantastic idea (often preceded by an “Aha!” moment of clarity), but then you fall asleep before you do anything about it. When I ask my students what they should do the next time they have a brilliant idea, they all say the same thing: “I should put it down on paper so that I don’t forget.” What’s wrong with that advice? Nothing — as far as it goes.
When you get an idea, it’s so exciting, but then you hit this mental wall – am I going to do this? Should I do this? Is this a good idea? This is why most people don’t follow through on their ideas because they stall out at the idea stage, which means the best ideas are the least likely to become real. Don’t stop there. Take action immediately, and you’ll get more done.
Here’s the thing: your brain wants to find a solution as fast as possible when you solve a problem. It doesn’t want you to waste time. It wants you to discover, create, and execute. The same tactics can be applied to your entire life, where distractions lead to procrastination, creating brilliant ideas.
Try using “But” If you find out something negative in another person
According to research by Sandra Murray and John Holmes, when a person uses “but” with his or her partner, it signals an awareness of the other person’s needs and feelings — even if that awareness doesn’t lead to action. In other words, using “but” means you get the big picture while still being clear about your feelings and what you need from your partner.
The researchers found that saying “but” in response to negative feedback about your partner can help you maintain a positive attitude. Leaving room for discussion and disagreement, it keeps tensions from escalating into bad feelings and arguments. The word is a way of saying, “This is great, but…” It helps you identify a problem without sounding like a nag.
There are times when you have to point out the flaws in another person. The best way to do this is to start a sentence with “but”. When you point out something negative in another person, use “but” every time to add a sense of balance. For example:
- “I think this is a good idea, but I don’t like how you said that.”
- “I agree with what you said, but I don’t agree with this other thing.”
- “I think we should go ahead and do this thing, but maybe not at this time. Maybe next week or something?”
The sentences above show how to use “but” to smooth out negative statements in your sentences.
59 Seconds Quotes
“Happiness doesn’t just flow from success; it causes it.” -Richard Wiseman
“The message is that people are more likely to agree with you when they have already said something positive.” -Richard Wiseman
59 Seconds Review
It was a great book that had me hooked from the beginning. I enjoyed reading this book because it helped me see things from different perspectives and made me think about how others might feel from their own experiences. It is a very interesting perspective on bullying and how it affects others around us, making us feel like we are somehow different or weak when we are not!
To whom would I Recommend 59 Seconds summary?
- Anyone who always fails in his resolutions.
- Any who has many ideas but is afraid to work on them.
- Anyone who finds out flaws in other people.
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