"Holding brain science in one hand and rich emotional presence in the
other, this book feels timely and necessary."--Shauna Niequist, New
York Times bestselling author of Present Over Perfect
Why is there such a gap between what you want to do and what you
actually do? The host of Ask Science Mike explains why our desires and
our real lives are so wildly different--and what you can do to close the
gap.
For thousands of years, scientists, philosophers, and self-help gurus
have wrestled with one of the basic conundrums of human life: Why do we
do the things we do? Or, rather, why do we so often not do the things
we want to do? As a podcast host whose voice goes out to millions each
month, Mike McHargue gets countless emails from people seeking to
understand their own misbehavior--why we binge on Netflix when we know
taking a walk outside would be better for us, or why we argue politics
on Facebook when our real friends live just down the street. Everyone
wants to be a good person, but few of us, twenty years into the new
millennium, have any idea how to do that.
In You're a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass), McHargue addresses these
issues. We like to think we're in control of our thoughts and decisions,
he writes, but science has shown that a host of competing impulses,
emotions, and environmental factors are at play in every action we
undertake. Touching on his podcast listeners' most pressing questions,
from relationships and ethics to stress and mental health, and sharing
some of the biggest triumphs and hardships from his own life, McHargue
shows us how some of our qualities that seem most frustrating--including
"negative" emotions like sadness, anger, and anxiety--are actually key
to helping humans survive and thrive. In doing so, he invites us on a
path of self-understanding and, ultimately, self-acceptance.
You're a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass) is a guided tour through the
mystery of human consciousness, showing readers how to live more at
peace with themselves in a complex world.
