“We don’t become unhappy overnight.”

If you can't find the right path, avoid the wrong one.
I can't control my misfortune, but I can change the way I live my life!

The Laws of a Good Life Learned Through the Reversal Technique

Rolf Dobelli, who has been praised as 'one of Europe's most witty thinkers' and 'an author with a captivating talent for conveying the achievements of modern science in a stimulating and exciting way', returns with a new work after seven years.
It's "If you want to change your life, don't live like that."

As the title suggests, this book deals with 'the lifestyles and attitudes that ruin our lives.'
Explore the path to true happiness and success through living a wrong life.
To borrow the author's expression, it is a 'reversal technique'.
Remember Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adam"? We believe this painting shows us that God created us, but perhaps we humans created God.


This book makes us look back at our flawed way of life by turning our perspective upside down.
It also helps us avoid the unfortunate and undesirable paths.
He uses a slightly harsh tone to create a sense of alertness, but never forgets wit.
We also added illustrations that powerfully convey the core message of the text, adding to the fun of reading.
But if it ended here, this book would be meaningless.
Through the summary of 'The Quiet Voice of Reason', we carefully examine why we should avoid such lifestyles and attitudes.
If you want to get your life back on track before it's too late, this book will definitely help.

Life is hard.
Failure is inevitable.
The same goes for personal life and work life.
And yet you keep holding on and moving forward? That's something only a madman would do.
Let's learn to give up gracefully.
Instead of getting frustrated, let's see it as part of a bigger plan.
As if it was intended from the beginning.

“Get up, fix your crown, and keep going!” Let’s send this advice, loved by grandmothers, to rest.
I would rather say this.
“Lie down, throw off your crown, weep!” Defeatism is nothing to be ashamed of.
Life is hard, so only discouragement is true and honest.
So, don't unnecessarily delay laying down your arms and surrendering.
Surrender first if possible.
Only then can we gain an advantage in the competition to live as unfortunate beings.
---「8.
From "Do not bear the weight of the crown"

How often do you use social media? Why not use it more frequently, more actively, and more comprehensively? No matter where you are.
Become a true power user across all platforms.
Add TikTok and Telegram to the basic package of Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and LinkedIn.
Follow every account, comment on every piece of content, and upload anything that "looks worthwhile" to social media.
Never change your activity status to private.
Everything from the eggs you ate for breakfast, to the new hair removal cream you bought, to your thoughts on the British royal family should become part of public discourse.

Let's create a few fake accounts in addition to our real ones.
Let your heart, anger, aggression, and inferiority complex flow freely there.
Fake accounts are a balm for the soul! Anything is possible.
The more explicit, the better.
The more provocative it is, the more views it gets.
---「15.
From "Get lost in social media"

There is a saying that “the person you date is you.”
That means the people around me shape me and tell me who I am.
Who you spend time with influences your thoughts, speech, feelings, and actions.
This is called 'emotional contagion'.
Most transmission occurs unconsciously.
Little by little, you begin to imitate the negative person's speech and facial expressions, their habits and attitudes.
This is similar to secondhand smoke.
Even if you don't smoke, if someone next to you smokes, you will inhale harmful smoke.
One day you may find yourself putting a cigarette in your mouth.
So, I recommend this:
Stay away from negative people.
There is a saying that has always helped me.
“Don’t let them live in your head.”
---「17.
From "Keeping Negative People Around You"

Humans react much more strongly to negative things than to positive things.
Why is that? It's simple.
Because negativity can kill us.
At best, being positive only makes you feel good.
Long ago, there must have been some positive people among hunters and gatherers.
These are the people who were kicked out of the gene pool after smiling and waving at the saber-toothed tiger.
Those who survived were the fearful, the anxious, and the suspicious.
We are their descendants.
That's why we exist until now.
The media exploits this instinct very cleverly.
Negative news generates more clicks, viewership, and revenue than positive news.
This is precisely why we shouldn't just consume news.
This phenomenon is called 'negativity bias'.
So 80 percent of the news is bad news.
Because that's how sales increase.
It's not that surprising.
---「31.
From "Always assume the worst"

Is falling in love truly a beautiful thing? What if we take it to the extreme? A life that doesn't stop at falling in love, but dedicates itself wholeheartedly to the person you love.
A life of complete enslavement to him! Then you will be caught up in a whirlpool of turbulent emotions.
At first, it is full of joy, but then it gradually falls into despair.
The long-term suffering that this unbalanced love will produce is a guaranteed consequence.
---「34.
From "Bind, Obsess, and Obey"

There is no 'no spoilers' in marriage.
Even in the age of AI, there is no algorithm that can tell you what kind of marriage partner you will have or what kind of married life you will have.
If there was a simple checklist that could be followed on a first date, divorce rates would probably drop significantly.
In reality, finding a life partner involves a great deal of luck.
I've seen CEOs who are geniuses at dealing with people end up in divorce court.
The only empirically proven variable that increases the likelihood of a successful marriage is 'similarity'.
In other words, personality, values, and life direction must be similar.
The common belief that 'opposites attract' is wrong.
Opposition is the fuse that fuels conflict.
The differences between men and women are already difficult enough, but if their values ​​also differ, how can we navigate the challenges ahead together? I can only wish you the best of luck.
---「41.
From "Continue the Wrong Marriage"

There's one more thing I've realized while studying life's failures.
The thing is, we don't usually fall into (self-inflicted) misfortune overnight.
One small foolish act leads to a second and a third.
Little by little, our stupidity piles up and piles up until, at some point, it suddenly sweeps us away like an avalanche, plunging us into the abyss of destruction.
So it is very important to correct it early, before it is too late.

---From “Conclusion and Acknowledgements”