My Review of 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think

A wonderful collection of essays with few eye-opening ideas that Brianna Wiest has carefully picked through her life as a writer.

I was caught into the book because of the few well-composed chapters in the book, especially the first five chapters. For me, it really does make me change the way I think, about how I perceive my behaviour, which, I will talk about later. But the more I flip the page, the boring it gets, as there are only few concepts that are paraphrased again, and again. It seems like Brianna Wiest has run out of her ideas. Frankly speaking, you can stop at about the half of the book, it's also where I mostly stop taking highlight because the ideas keep microwaving like a left-over.
Here are some core ideas that I can learn from the books, partly because they are mentioned every other chapter, with only different words, that I ultimately remember them (which, if viewed with another perspective, is actually a good thing):

Get used to being uncomfortable.

The modern society tells us that a 'good life' is a life without endurement, that is the most comfortable, secure, pain-free. Humans are hardwired to seek comfort. People will only change when staying still is the most uncomfortable option. In other words, they only change when they must, and usually it is too late.

What you hate about other people is what you hate about yourself.

Honestly speaking, this is why I was hooked in the book from the very beginning. This is such an open-eye idea. You dislike a person, because you see in that person the part of you that you cannot face directly, thus deny it. Indeed, if you don't like a passive friend who always try to please other people, is it that you see a part of yourself in that person, the self that used to be controlled by parents, be oppressed by teachers and now is seeking freedom? I also remember a chapter in Mama's Boy book from Dustin Lance Black, when he came out to his step-father, and was surprised by his calm reaction. He then realises that a secured heterosexual male doesn't bother about the gays, because logically, what's the reason for that? It's those who are trying to shove away their true self that fight against other to not fight against his own self.

Pain = Growth

There is a reason for your suffering. If you feel panic, vulnerable when doing something, for example, writing a novel, it is because you are interested in it, and your heart is trying to tell you that it's the right thing to do. Keep going.

The one true sign that you're moving ahead with your life is that you don't know where you're going. If you know, you'd be circling the same path again.

Feelings are objective, and you cannot feel happy without feeling sad.

Part of the reason why people are suffering because they don't accept the pain. They try to oppress it by shooing it away, trying to feel happy, telling oneself 'You must smile, and the pain will go away'. It will not, and the escape from that is to sit down, let that pain talk to you, accept it as an emotion that you're experiencing. The acronym of pain isn't joy, but it's acceptance. Resisting it only fuels the fire to be larger, and more suffering.
I will still recommend this book, as I think Brianna Wiest has done a great job collecting her personal philosophical essays throughout her time of writing blogs. The most noticeable are the essays containing a list of questions. It's a wonderful collection and it helps me set a time to answer them one by one and to know more about myself.
However, if you feel like you're running out of interest after some time, it's okay to put the book away, or flip to a random page and read it. I don't think it's a good idea to force your way through a book, because after all, Reading is like Going On A Date.
Hope you will enjoy the book.