How To Do Things You Hate: Self-Discipline to Suffer Less, Embrace the Suck, and Achieve Anything (Live a Disciplined Life) Paperback – August 28, 2023

Peter Hollins is not a warm and squishy bestselling author but boy is this man “deep.” He’s a trouble-shooting no-nonsense human psychology researcher and claims to be a dedicated student of the human condition. This is an easy-to-read, engaging handbook on what he terms, “Laziness Literacy.”The truth is there are underlying causes of laziness that make you loathe what you’re doing. Have you ever thought or been accused of being lazy because you detest doing something and you won’t do it? Think about this: When you say you hate something, it may be a signal that you’re sabotaging yourself.Peter invites the reader to look at their troubling situations and procrastination with the neutral eyes of an investigator to approach a solution. “You procrastinate for a reason. Understand that reason and you give yourself a real chance to do something different.”Hollins discusses all types of behavior that could appear as laziness and he provides quick(-ish) solutions for these behaviors. Here are some examples of symptoms of laziness:1) Confusion – You know you should do something, but because you don’t know what to do, you don’t do anything.2) Fear – You become paralyzed. You avoid a perceived negative outcome and you don’t do anything.3) Fixed Mindset – Unconsciously you feel stupid and save yourself the embarrassment. You give up because you’re not a fully-fledged accomplished (fill in the blank). Rather than endure the learning process, you don’t do anything.4) Fatigue – Not interpreting the difference between mental and physical tiredness. Therefore, if you don’t properly get rest and change your energy levels, you end up too tired, and you don’t do anything.5) Apathy – A passivity mask of aggression, anger, hostility defiance, and resentment all designed to make sure you don’t do anything.6) Self-Belief – Beating up on yourself constantly. Because you believe these lies, you don’t do anything.7) Loss of Heart – Discouragement and loss of hope. Feeling “poor me” undermines any motivation to act. So why bother? You do nothing.8) Comfort Orientation – Prefers comfort over effort. You do anything as long as it’s fun. But soon the fun doesn’t stay fun because in the back of your mind is that nagging knowing you’re not doing what you should be doing.Peter’s recipe for working through doing what you hate is changing your mindset by reframing your ‘hate’ as curiosity, willingness, and self-compassion. Methods of cultivating these healthy habits are at your disposal with his sure-fire guidance. His focus is on living wisely, functioning holistically, couched in spirituality, and influenced by the Shaolin Monks. “The ultimate goal is for the new behavior to be intrinsically rewarding and continue naturally.” Peter Hollins will steer you reliably out of your “I hate this” pothole.

I read this book over Christmas break, at a very low point when I was physically and mentally drained after a taxing year at a job I didn't enjoy, only to find that I would need to forfeit Christmas vacation to travel halfway around the world to take care of a property in need of repair (I'm a landlord) and then travel to another place to spend time with relatives that could potentially be filled with drama.This book taught me to not shrink back from the hard things ahead, but rather accept them, remove self-criticisms, and not add any additional "darts" to an already painful situation. It introduced ACT, Acceptance Commitment Therapy, and distilled this huge topic into a section within a chapter. Learning this alone taught me to accept my circumstances, remove the self-judgment or ruminations of what could be, have a sharper focus on my values in light of the obstacles involved, reframe my perceptions, choose a mindset that is more helpful instead of harmful in light of the situation, and commit to action, knowing that action puts me into a positive loop.It also points out a very wise life advice, one among many you can find in the book: "The easier we make our lives, the less able we are to tolerate things that are not easy." Comfort is a trap, and we can do things that can shield us from "comfort creep," which can stunt our growth.I'm writing this as Lent approaches, and I can see this book being useful on the path to renewal. I also bought another book from Peter Hollins as I'm re-reading this one. That book is "41 Self-Discipline Habits: For Slackers, Avoiders, & Couch Potatoes."But yes, I strongly recommend "How To Do Things You Hate." Despite the innocuous cover, this book offers some powerful, life-changing wisdom, delivered in the clearest language, and with the most practical steps.

Brilliant book. I studied it about 3 times, because it was so practical and useful.This book will teach you how to "get things done", be very productive, and overcome procrastination.

Useful

This book is a good intro into mindfulness practices. The book gives relatable examples to various thought processes to showcase the value of mindful and intentional living.I did find the sentence structure to be a bit challenging. My partner and I read aloud together for a few minutes before bed each night and as we were reading this book we found ourselves getting tongue tied and needing to re-read some sections.

This book has been valuable to me (ADHD). The most important idea for myself was the brief introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) of which I am looking into seriously. The book is not a one size fits all, rather introduces a number of important but different practices. Likely there is something for everyone within. Although I am not a fan of this style of writing, the content was helpful and worth more than the time, effort and money.

Havnt finished it. Work /no leisure

definitely taking this book into consideration