The Guardian writer, psychology journalist, and author of the critically acclaimed book The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking, Oliver Burkeman, dropped by the program to talk to me about the writer’s journey, turning a weekly column into a book, and rethinking positive thinking.

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Start getting more from your site today!Oliver writes about social psychology, self-help culture, productivity, and the science of happiness for his columns in both The Guardian (based in Brooklyn, New York), and Psychologies magazine. He has also interviewed a laundry list of celebrities ranging from Al Gore to Jerry Seinfeld.

In his critically acclaimed book, The Antidote (2012), the author went undercover into the heart of the “happiness industrial complex” to explore why our relentless pursuit of happiness and success often leaves us feeling the opposite.

The author looked to academics, psychologists, Buddhists, business consultants, philosophers, and many others in a unique search for an “… alternative path to happiness and success that involves embracing failure, pessimism, insecurity, and uncertainty – the very things we spend our lives trying to avoid.”

The Los Angeles Times said of the book, “Burkeman’s tour of the ‘negative path’ to happiness makes for a deeply insightful and entertaining book.”

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In Part One of this file Oliver Burkeman and I discuss:

The author’s lifetime love of journalism
How his own challenges with time management lead to his latest book project
Why constraints can improve your productivity
Time-tested advice for getting words onto the page

The Show Notes

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How the Author of ‘The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking’ Oliver Burkeman Writes: Part Two
OliverBurkeman.com
The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking – Oliver Burkeman
This column will change your life – Oliver Burkeman investigates routes to mental wellbeing for The Guardian
Why time management is ruining our lives – Oliver Burkeman
Oliver Burkeman for Psychologies magazine
How Neuroscientist Michael Grybko Defines Writer’s Block
How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing – Paul J. Silvia
Oliver Burkeman on Twitter
Kelton Reid on Twitter

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