Self-Sabotage

Rating:
Summary: Drivel
Review: At the risk of empowering the author's "Inner Critic" to beat the bejeezus out of her "Inner Child," this book is awful. Those who do not have serious mental and emotional issues will find it useless, and those who do may find it damaging. I cringe when I consider, for instance, how helpful it might not be to someone with real mental health issues to follow the exercises in which they are instructed to identify sub-personalities within themselves, imagine what they look like, and start having converstions with them. Pop-psych and psychology in general seem too often to forget the essential rule: "First, do no harm." What do they think, that sticks and stones can break people's bones, but words can never hurt them? Beyond that, the book is just silly. Hug your inner child and study some truly stupid diagrams that are supposed to represent "a person in their entirety." This book offers few to no actual examples of self-sabotaging behavior (other than the catch-all self-sabotage of "listening to your inner critic") nor does it offer concrete recommendations on how to stop or avoid such behaviors (other than "don't listen to your inner critic"). Unless you're into really stupid pop-psych masturbatory self-examination exercises, you will find nothing here. Don't read this book.

Rating:
Summary: You've got to be kidding...
Review: At the risk of empowering the author's "Inner Critic" to beat the bejeezus out of her "Inner Child," this book is awful. Those who do not have serious mental and emotional issues will find it useless, and those who do may find it damaging. I cringe when I consider, for instance, how helpful it might not be to someone with real mental health issues to follow the exercises in which they are instructed to identify sub-personalities within themselves, imagine what they look like, and start having converstions with them. Pop-psych and psychology in general seem too often to forget the essential rule: "First, do no harm." What do they think, that sticks and stones can break people's bones, but words can never hurt them? Beyond that, the book is just silly. Hug your inner child and study some truly stupid diagrams that are supposed to represent "a person in their entirety." This book offers few to no actual examples of self-sabotaging behavior (other than the catch-all self-sabotage of "listening to your inner critic") nor does it offer concrete recommendations on how to stop or avoid such behaviors (other than "don't listen to your inner critic"). Unless you're into really stupid pop-psych masturbatory self-examination exercises, you will find nothing here. Don't read this book.

Rating:
Summary: A little gem of a book
Review: I almost didn't buy this book. I saw buzzwords like "inner child" and "saboteur" and references to "transactional analysis" (which I knew nothing about, but somehow had an aversion to) ... but I bought the book anyway. I've been "reorganized" out of my job of 20 years, and wanted to see if some suspicions about my sabotaging myself held up. Well, they did ... and Ms. Baldwin explained why, and explained how to stop. She also explained, with more clarity than I've seen before, the difference/sameness between individuals and partners in a loving relationship. I also wish I had had this book as I was trying to be the best parent I could be. There's a lot of wisdom here.

Rating:
Summary: Drivel
Review: Mindless drivel. Ouch.

I am intelligent, good looking, and reasonably wise - yet I keep taking actions both personally and professionally that sabotage my own success. "Bathing in white light and imagining dark arrows coming at me..." is less than helpful in understanding and redirecting the sinister nature of recurring self-defeat.

It's more likely that I get more goodies and connection (in the form of sympathy and compassion) from those who are close.

This is pop-psych gone bad.