The Mountain is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery was written by Brianna Wiest and published in 2020.
Bestselling author Brianna Weist uses a metaphor for our own self-destruction, the mountain, and encourages us to accept and overcome our self-defeat and change--for good.
"There is nothing holding you back in life more than yourself"
In The Mountain is You, Weist allows us to reflect on the psychological route of the issues that hold us back from being who we want to be in life. As she points out, our failures are not attributed to us being lazy or uninspired, but they can have deeper meanings rooted in childhood trauma, unprocessed emotions, and a lack of emotional intelligence.
Self-Sabotage is a lie
We understand that sometimes we want one thing and do another. Wiest shows us that this can be a lack of understanding of our true desires, but is usually a symptom of major attachments we have to a certain lifestyle of reality.
The author implores us to explore our tendencies to resist and ask ourselves what conscience fears are holding us back from what we truly want in life. Inspiration only lasts so long. Identifying the behaviors that hold us back and why they do can give us a map to correct those behaviors and fill them with ones that encourage the life of our dreams.
Be realistic about your emotions
The book shows us that our bodies are always reaching towards comfort. When something is bad we revert to "good," when we feel extremely happy we struggle to cope with the unfamiliarity of it, and revert back to "unhappy." This is why we cannot change through dramatic twists and turns, we see real progress when we alter our life in microshifts, and move through unfamiliarity with the knowledge that we have put in the work to be there, and it's well deserved.
"Outcomes in life are not governed by passion, they are governed by principle."
Building our minds up to be open to change and to ultimately seek peace in knowing we are taking small steps towards the things we want helps us to grow.
Climbing the mountain
After reading this, I had to tools to evaluate what behaviors were holding me back--conscious and unconscious. Having the compassion to work with yourself and not judge every choice you've ever made is essential. Many things that we say or do are not our fault. Wiest made me realize that while I wasn't committed to a future that seemed unattainable. I was simply committed to a state of wanting things I didn't have. Instead believing that I have the tools and the life I want somewhere down the road is more important. Making the small changes that will get me there and folding them into my routines is essential, not sitting waiting around for inspiration and big changes to occur.
The final score
I will say it's hard to write a bad self-help book, any information for someone who wants to change their life in a positive way is beneficial. This book is unique because of the way the topics are presented, the short spurts of topics are easy to relate to. If you want to identify your bad habits and exchange them for good ones this book will help you. While it's not a step-by-step guide, the book encourages you to be your own guide and navigate all the parts of yourself that are doing you a disservice.
While change is never easy, the book highlights what change will be most beneficial to you and why. If you're wondering why you feel like you "can't" achieve your goals, or why the struggle some days is worse than others, this book will help you discern passion and pleasure from reality and give you the self-acceptance needed to go the extra mile in order to be your best self. Overall rating 8.7/10
Comments