Snappy New Year

The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho

What better time than the beginning of a new year to stop procrastinating self-improvement? One good start would be with this self-help book in the form of a quest novel. Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd who goes on a quest to the Pyramids and finds knowledge about himself, other people, and the world.

I am the kind of guy who believes in Fate, i.e. the terms and conditions of life on this planet. Although the author of this book seems to believe more than me that we have some measure of control over terms and conditions, I am not going to argue, because useful truths come out of thinking about disagreements.

The only self-help I usually read  are books by Albert Ellis. But this quest novel was a reminder of what is often forgotten but important. Not something new, but it has been heard hundreds of times. Some lessons:

·         Fear of failure is a bigger obstacle than failure itself.

·         Be here now. Focus on the present.

·         Mix it up. Don’t do the same things in the same way.

·         Embrace change.

·         Know your own values and stick by them lest other people thrust their preferences on you and make you a tool.

·         Make the decision. Fight procrastination.

·         Dismiss the opinions of others. They don’t know or care what you’re dealing with.

·         Practice re-faming. Think more positively about things you don’t like that have to be lived with. The words you use to yourself count. 

It is presented in a plain style that started to cloy after a half-hour, but style is not important when the reminders are relevant. I will not recommend reading this book, I can only advise you to ask yourself - is it time for you to read it? And everyone will have their own answer, because everyone has their own destiny as we enter covid's junior year.