I would have covered half a dozen books (maybe more) since the start of 2023. That’s close to my usual rhythm. I shifted to Kindle a few years back. It is convenient to switch between books, which I usually do. Handy to carry while traveling. I do like the highlight feature to recap the book later on. I can even switch to other online Kindle online reader apps to continue reading on-the-fly. And less paper, so doing a bit for the planet!
Since the last year or so, I have been more into psychology a.k.a. behavioral science. The implications of this field are so widespread, it makes it very interesting. From human relationships to professional environments, and even finance and investing, each piece applied is more and more intriguing as you dive into them. Four books, in particular, were based on this theme. If you follow similar interests, here are the ones you could consider reading.
Don’t Believe Everything You Think – Joseph Nguyen
It isn’t a radically new topic, but I enjoyed the presentation by the author. “We live in a world of thought, not reality. Thought is not reality, yet it is through thought that our realities are created”. The book exposes thinking as a filter through which we live through a perception of reality, not in reality itself. It then delves into science around why we even think. It goes back to humans have evolved to develop a sophisticated ability to rationalize and analyze which has helped in survival. Those survival instincts were due to potential dangers in the long-past environment. But the world has changed, and regular life isn’t threatening around. But humans have taken the overthinking inertia into the present world while it’s not even necessary most of the time! I particularly liked the analogy of distilling the mud water glass, on how the natural state of mind is peace, and thinking is a stirrer that is not letting the mud settle. The latter half also talks about some practices that can be employed and advises on the dangers of relapse. It is a short read, and not much repetitive.
The Psychology of Money – Morgan Housel
An essential book to build perception on wealth and building it. Few books in my entire life I have re-read, and this is one of them. The premise of the book is that “doing well with money has little to do with how smart you are and a lot to do with how you behave”. The book starts with how we overestimate our knowledge about the world based on our experiences. But we’ve all experienced just a tiny bit of it. So people develop this anchoring effect instead of being receptive to new data, which leads to bad economic decisions. Of course, none of such books can be complete without touching upon the psychology of greed. The hardest financial skill is getting the goalpost to stop moving. Another important aspect discussed is Getting Wealthy versus Staying Wealthy. Also, it’s not always intuitive that an investor can go wrong half the time and still make a fortune. What is more important is how one responds in the time of crisis. The “Man in the Car Paradox” is a very interesting observation of how most perceive wealth. Look for chapters on overblown Pessimism that sells better than Optimism that leads to irrational decisions. And finally, being adaptable to changing world and changing goals over time.
Essentialism : The Disciplined Pursuit of Less – Greg McKeown
If you are juggling between priorities and looking at decluttering your mind, the book shows some directions. With the exponential increase in choices over the last decade, if one doesn’t prioritize time and space, someone else will. Essentialism, as the author says, is not about how to get more things done; it is about how to get the right things done. It’s about determining where lies the highest point of contribution, and executing those things almost effortlessly. In terms of decluttering life, studies have found how we tend to value (physical) stuff that we own much higher than they are worth it, and hence find it difficult to get rid of. The book also draws a parallel with the Pareto Principle, an observation that 20 percent of our efforts produce 80 percent of results. So distinguishing between the “trivial many” from the “vital few” can be applied to every kind of human endeavor. People are effective because they say no. If you would believe in that, you can learn more about the whys and hows. You will also come across psychologies such as Sunk-Cost bias where one keeps pouring efforts on a dud just because of the price already paid. You would need a bit of patience to reach the end of the book, just for the fact that some might feel obvious, but some interesting snippets add flavor to the existing ideas.
The Catalyst : How to Change Anyone’s Mind – Jonah Berger
This last book is about the power of influencing and learning some art of negotiations. It is a simple read, with cues around how to be a catalyst in things you want to achieve. No one (or at least most) wants to be told what to do. While on the flip side, making their own decision is more satisfying. The book has a lot of anecdotes, each explaining some situations and the strategies applied. After going through it, in hindsight, the connection is made. There are five chapters on Reactance (how people naturally push back on new ideas), Endowment (people are stuck to ideas, and need to be convinced of the tradeoff between upside and downside), Distance (can people relate to the new ideas?), Uncertainty (providing enough information), and Corroborating Evidence (overcoming translation problems, the reason why going on trying, again and again, doesn’t work). Overall, this book is not about in-depth psychology, but tactics for overcoming hurdles.
If I can pick my favorite, it would be The Psychology of Money, and Don’t Believe Everything You Think is the second. More new recommendations from readers are most welcome!