Subtitle: The Driving Force That Initiates Self-Change

Author: Zhou Ling

Publisher: Posts & Telecom Press

Publication Year: 2020-10

ISBN: 9787115543424

Notes:

The book is divided into two parts.

The first part is inward-looking: understanding yourself. Starting from the triune brain theory, it explains how the brain works. The instinctive brain maintains basic physiological needs, the emotional brain handles emotion and social interaction, and the rational brain processes logic and decision-making. But most of the time, people are driven by the instinctive and emotional brains. The subconscious is closely tied to intuitive thinking and can help us make choices and decisions, after which the rational brain analyzes and verifies them. Metacognition, meanwhile, is like switching on a god’s-eye view: it lets a person step out of the current situation at any moment and observe their own thinking and behavior.

The second part is outward-looking: changing yourself. The book offers many useful methods for improving your focus, learning ability, action, and emotional capacity, and describes the benefits of early rising, meditation, reading, writing, and exercise.

Overall, this is a good book. It can help people understand themselves better, raise their own level of cognition, and adapt to this world so as to live a better life.