Apparently this is not the first blog post I've written titled More About Books. Huh.And wouldn't you know it? It was OK. Not spectacular. I did like that it gave structure to making big life decisions - and even some smaller decisions - that ISN'T asking friends & family for advice, or something more elusive like "look into your heart." Suzy says that you just ask yourself "how is this going to play out ten minutes from now (immediately), 10 months from now (near future) and 10 years from now (distant future)?" And this makes total sense to me. Should I stay in my apartment or look for a house? Should I stay in my job or look for a new one? Should I eat those cookies? Etc. The framework is great - and super helpful. I've already used it a couple times.
But here's where it fails me - I can't live my life this way all the time. Those cookies I mentioned earlier? Here's how that plays out:
10 minutes from now - my mouth and my stomach will be so very happy.
10 months from now - I probably won't remember those cookies, and I might have gained a pound or two.
10 years from now - I will weigh over 200 pounds.
But I ate the cookies anyway. Because they were delicious.
The failure of the book was the examples. Suzy has a gazillion friends, all of whom have used 10-10-10 a number of times to great success. AND SHE TOLD US ABOUT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. I got the point by page 50, and still had to slog through 100 more. This could have been a pamphlet instead of a book - but then, how would Suzy make any money?
10-10-10 - C+
10 minutes from now - my mouth and my stomach will be so very happy.
10 months from now - I probably won't remember those cookies, and I might have gained a pound or two.
10 years from now - I will weigh over 200 pounds.
But I ate the cookies anyway. Because they were delicious.
The failure of the book was the examples. Suzy has a gazillion friends, all of whom have used 10-10-10 a number of times to great success. AND SHE TOLD US ABOUT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. I got the point by page 50, and still had to slog through 100 more. This could have been a pamphlet instead of a book - but then, how would Suzy make any money?
10-10-10 - C+
1 comment:
No, part of me feels like the 10 minute rule is extremely helpful, particularly when you are upset about something that you even know in the moment is trivial, and yet somehow, you can't prevent yourself from getting upset about it.
However, 10 years? 10 YEARS? I think about 10 years from now, and its almost impossible for me to imagine. Will I be upset about this trivial thing in 10 years? No, but I don't know what the fuck else is happening in 10 years, right?
I don't know friend. I think it has some merit, but I think I'll stick with your synopsis instead of reading it for myself. Also--thanks to our dads who gave us self-help books during college. Mine was "What should I do with my life." I never read it, and I still don't know the answer to that question...
Post a Comment