Norman Vincent Peale (1891–1993)

All those books about "manifesting" what you want, letting the universe know your desire, affirmations, etc. are all children of this book "The Power of Positive Thinking". My mom swore by this book, and I see why -- she was very religious and this book could be called "the power of prayer" because Peale uses Bible verses as the affirmations and posits that repeating these lines will create the positive outcome you want in your life. I read this book when I was depressed and feeling low about myself. The one thing that helped me from this book was when Peale spoke about negative self-talk. I recognized the voice in my head as being a constant refrain of put-downs and criticism. He had some suggestions on how to stop repeating these negative things to yourself. Once I realized I was doing this, and actively tried to turn that around, I began to feel better. Basically, if nothing else, "the power of positive thinking" helped me control (at least a little bit) the negative self-talk. For that insight alone, I will keep this book just in case I need to remind myself to not self-sabotage.… (more)

"yeah yeah science and all, but... have you tried praying???"

wtf was that. looking at its popularity i opened this one expecting a proper self help book but literally got served a hefty dose of jesus instead. looking at the title what i thought was gonna deep dive into the mind's power turned into a sunday church pamphlet. wanted tips to boost my mood, not a sermon on why faith is the answer to everything.

when i'm promised a self-help book i expect strategies, exercises or insights grounded in psychology or personal development techniques, not chapters filled with biblical quotations and divine interventions as the sole solution to life's challenges.

i can't believe this… (more)