Emotions 2.0: The Logic of Rage

Even though we’re all human, most of us don’t understand what drives people (including ourselves) to feel and behave the way we do. In The Laws of Human Nature, author Robert Greene looks at several laws that explain, among other things, why we self-sabotage, behave differently in groups, and want the wrong things.

Armed with the knowledge of these fundamentals of human nature, you can manage toxic people, become more empathetic, make people like you, and control your own nature.

Your intuition is trying to keep you safe, but are you listening? In The Gift of Fear, security specialist Gavin de Becker contends that violence is a normal part of human nature and that you possess an innate ability to detect warning signs of danger—your intuition. He writes that when you ignore this instinct in favor of logic, you become more vulnerable to danger. By learning to identify warning signs and trust your intuition, you can better manage your safety and be more prepared for dangerous situations.

In this guide, we’ll discuss some misconceptions of violence, the importance of trusting intuition, and methods for predicting and preventing various forms of violence. We'll delve into strategies for handling workplace, domestic, and youth violence, while providing scientific research on violence, fear, and intuition as well as additional safety tips to complement de Becker's strategies.

Trauma can stem from abuse to a severe car accident to wartime combat—and cause a lifetime of flashbacks, nightmares, isolation, insomnia, hypervigilance, and rage. In The Body Keeps the Score, the author explores how diagnosing and treating trauma has evolved as new technologies, research, and fields of science emerged.

Trauma’s impact is not only mental, emotional, and neurological, but also physiological: Trauma rewires the brain to put people in a constant state of stress or numbness, leading to a host of physical problems.

In this summary, you’ll learn:

• Why trauma survivors feel like their trauma is never-ending
• How flashbacks make parts of the brain shut down and others to go into overdrive
• Why some trauma survivors can’t recognize themselves in the mirror
• How activities like choral singing, yoga, and theater can be therapeutic

Do you constantly get swept away by your emotions? Would you like to learn how to control your emotional reactions at home or at work? Or maybe you’re uncomfortable with emotions, and don’t understand why you or anyone else feels them? Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman is a comprehensive look at what emotions are and why we have them, how we can get better at managing them, and why the well-being of humanity might depend on us doing so.

Many people engage in self-sabotaging patterns that prevent them from being happy. Despite their efforts to change, they end up reverting to their unwanted behaviors and feel powerless to adopt healthier patterns.

In How to Do the Work, holistic psychologist and bestselling author Nicole LePera argues that you can live a healthier, happier life by taking control of your self-destructive patterns. According to her, such patterns stem from unresolved childhood traumatic experiences. Therefore, the key to overcoming unwanted patterns lies in addressing these traumas.

This guide discusses LePera’s advice for overcoming self-sabotaging patterns. You’ll come away with the tools to:

• Understand the root cause of your self-sabotaging patterns
• Become more conscious of how childhood conditioning impacts your mental and physical health
• Develop positive patterns that improve your well-being
• Feel happier, healthier, and more in control of your life

Additionally, we’ll expand upon each of LePera’s ideas with research, advice, and actionable ideas from psychologists and self-improvement practitioners.

In a world where social upheavals are both history and headline news, understanding what drives masses of people toward radical change—or radical belief—is more relevant than ever. In The True Believer, self-educated philosopher Eric Hoffer examines the psychological foundation of political, social, and religious movements and uncovers why they captivate those feeling alienated or discontented. Through observations and thorough analysis, he reveals the shared characteristics across different movements and outlines the conditions for their rise and fall.

This book not only offers a lens through which to view historical events but will also equip you with a deeper understanding relevant to today's rapidly changing global landscape. In this guide, we’ll elaborate on the psychology behind Hoffer’s analysis and supplement his discussion with historical examples that illustrate his conclusions. We’ll also provide insight on how new technology has impacted the rise and fall of mass movements.

You might think of yourself as the hero of a story or a traveler on a journey. But what if it’s more accurate to say that you’re just a player in a game? In The Status Game, journalist Will Storr argues that we experience our social lives as a game, where the goal is to win as much status as we can to fit in with—but also stand out from—the people around us. Storr explains that by learning how these games work, you can better understand why you do what you do and avoid getting caught up in the more toxic aspects of the game.

In this guide, we’ll explore Storr’s theory about how status games shape your interactions with other people. We’ll also examine what happens when status games go wrong, and we’ll compare Storr’s ideas to those of other thinkers who’ve studied our drive for status and its sometimes surprising effects.

Even though we’re all human, most of us don’t understand what drives people (including ourselves) to feel and behave the way we do. In The Laws of Human Nature, author Robert Greene looks at several laws that explain, among other things, why we self-sabotage, behave differently in groups, and want the wrong things.

Armed with the knowledge of these fundamentals of human nature, you can manage toxic people, become more empathetic, make people like you, and control your own nature.