Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Book Review: Instinct: Rewire Your Brain by Rebecca Heiss

 

Goodreads Summary: A revolutionary approach to unlocking your innate ability to achieve success in business and in life.
Why do we constantly feel overwhelmed by stress, dissatisfied in our careers and relationships, and lacking in real purpose? Why do we seem to sabotage ourselves, hampering our productivity and success? The answer lies in our instincts . . .

In every area of life, from business to relationships to health, we act on outdated instincts that were built to help us survive a world ruled by scarcity and danger. But in today’s world, those same instincts stop us from succeeding in the environment we live in: a diverse world of abundant choices and almost limitless connections.

Now, evolutionary biologist Dr. Rebecca Heiss offers a new approach that harnesses the power of our instincts and redirects them to work for us rather than against us. Dr. Heiss reveals the science behind our self-sabotaging behaviors, then provides simple, actionable techniques that can rebuild our instinctive minds.

Both practical and inspiring, Instinct is a roadmap that anyone can use to finally stop living on autopilot, improve productivity and happiness, and consciously craft a better life.
Goodreads Rating: 3.86 stars with around 40 ratings
Genre Listing: NonFiction, Science
Goodreads Challenge: 20/36
2022 Reading Challenge: #9 Read a book by an author that's new to you


Book Review:

Hello, readers! I hope everyone is doing well this August evening. I am eagerly counting down until Fall, my favorite season. It'll be here soon! So today's review is going to be really different for me. I willingly read a nonfiction book. I know, weird. I think I can count on one hand how many nonfiction books I've read and finished that weren't textbooks. 

I recently heard about Instinct by Rebecca Heiss through a podcast that I had to listen to for one of the 9,000 leadership certificates I'm involved in. I don't remember what the podcast was called, but Rebecca was a guest, and I found myself really interested in how she talked about her book. I bought it instantly.

The whole premise of the book is that we're in constant sensory overload because our brains aren't made for this advanced technological world and how we have to train our brains to not be in survival mode because of it. This actually made a lot of sense to me because when my anxiety is extremely high, it feels like all I'm trying to do is just survive. While reading this, I felt like a light bulb just clicked in my brain.

From a writing perspective, I found Rebecca's antidotes relatable and easy to follow. Even when discussing the science, it was easy to read. At the end of each chapter, the tips given are summarized in a few bullet points, making it easy to remember and go back to. The book is under 300 pages, and I have never highlighted so many things in a book. I think I have around forty highlights on my kindle for this book. If you follow me on Goodreads, I make all my kindle highlights public. In addition to the highlights, I also recommended this book to my friends before I even finished it. I definitely recommend it to everyone who is looking for tips on how to better themselves. 

I've been on a kick at work when I have to share information breaking things into 3-5 key points to make it manageable. I don't want to give away all of the tips and tricks, but one of my coworkers wants to compare notes once they read it. I don't know where I picked this grouping of key points up, but in keeping with that trend, I'll share 3-5 things from the book I plan to focus on in my life. Plus, it will help me when my coworker and I discuss.

1. Take a breath and assess the situation 
2. When you are feeling stressed, take time to address your survival instinct directly by asking: "What am I afraid of at this moment? Am I allowing fear to stop me before I even start?"
3. I'm not here to be right; I'm here to get it right.
4. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.
5. Don't let your options be your burdens

I actually had my five things in the first half of the book. I could list so many more, but I don't want to add to my natural state of being overwhelmed.

If you have read this book, please let me know in the comments some of your key takeaways. I'd love to discuss it!




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