When Nothing Seems to Be Going Your Way, Here’s Exactly What to Do

Brené Brown believes that the key to fulfillment is pursuing wholeheartedness—a way of life that fosters self-worth and emphasizes being brave, caring for yourself and others, and cultivating meaningful relationships. Living wholeheartedly requires you to embrace and express your authentic self. However, doing so makes you vulnerable—you may face painful experiences like rejection, loss, and heartbreak. If left unaddressed, these experiences cause emotional setbacks that can keep you from living wholeheartedly. In Rising Strong, Brown explains that to rebuild wholeheartedness after setbacks, you must recover emotionally.

In this guide, we’ll start by explaining why it’s important to take control of your recovery. Then, we’ll explore the three stages of Brown’s recovery process—confronting your strong feelings, exploring why they occurred, and identifying how you can change your thoughts and behaviors to cultivate resilience and rebuild wholeheartedness. In our commentary, we’ll add context to Brown’s research and advice, referencing books like Hans Rosling’s Factfulness and Emily and Amelia Nagoski’s Burnout.

Author Jordan Peterson argues that modern secularism and reliance on science has left a void in answers to important existential questions: What is the point of living? Why do bad things happen to good people? What am I supposed to do to make myself happier? 12 Rules for Life addresses these questions and gives a set of life principles to live by. Learn why you should stop telling lies to others and yourself, why you should stop doing things you know are bad for you, and how to pursue what is truly meaningful for you.

Have you felt like trying to understand and analyze your problems isn’t enough to actually solve them? In The Tools, psychiatrist Phil Stutz and psychotherapist Barry Michels go beyond the common analytical approach to therapy by providing practical strategies for handling life’s challenges and unlocking your potential. They argue that focusing on practical strategies that change your behavior can push you past your mental blocks and limiting beliefs.

In this guide, we’ll examine the authors’ five strategies: embrace pain, accept yourself, love radically, let gratitude guide you, and stay disciplined. We’ll also compare Stutz and Michels’s ideas to those in other books, such as The Obstacle is the Way, and offer additional advice to help you change your behavior for the better.

Do you struggle with mental health challenges and wonder if there are simple things you can do to improve your mental health without having to see a therapist? In Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?, Dr. Julie Smith, a clinical psychologist and social media influencer, shares the essential skills you need to navigate common life challenges and take charge of your emotional and mental well-being. She covers how to identify and challenge negative thoughts, why self-compassion is essential, and how to lessen the power of strong negative emotions.

In this guide, we’ll discuss Smith’s practical tips for managing difficult emotions and thoughts, improving your self-confidence, and increasing your motivation. Along the way, we’ll also provide additional context to help you better understand the book’s concepts, and we’ll compare the author's insights and advice to those of other psychology, self-help, and mental health experts.

Brené Brown believes that the key to fulfillment is pursuing wholeheartedness—a way of life that fosters self-worth and emphasizes being brave, caring for yourself and others, and cultivating meaningful relationships. Living wholeheartedly requires you to embrace and express your authentic self. However, doing so makes you vulnerable—you may face painful experiences like rejection, loss, and heartbreak. If left unaddressed, these experiences cause emotional setbacks that can keep you from living wholeheartedly. In Rising Strong, Brown explains that to rebuild wholeheartedness after setbacks, you must recover emotionally.

In this guide, we’ll start by explaining why it’s important to take control of your recovery. Then, we’ll explore the three stages of Brown’s recovery process—confronting your strong feelings, exploring why they occurred, and identifying how you can change your thoughts and behaviors to cultivate resilience and rebuild wholeheartedness. In our commentary, we’ll add context to Brown’s research and advice, referencing books like Hans Rosling’s Factfulness and Emily and Amelia Nagoski’s Burnout.

The human brain responds to loss in ways that surprise, confuse, and often distress us, which can make it difficult to navigate the grieving process. In The Grieving Brain, psychologist Mary-Frances O’Connor explores the neurological basis of grief and how our brain’s learning systems grapple with understanding and adapting to the permanent absence of someone we love. She emphasizes that grief is not simply an emotional state to “get over,” but rather a complex learning process during which our brains must literally rewire themselves to accommodate a new reality.

In our guide, we’ll explain how grief works in the brain and how it manifests in our lives and our thoughts. We’ll also provide insights into how you can make navigating grief easier. In our commentary, we’ll add other theories, research that supports O’Connor’s ideas, and advice for how to put her ideas into practice.

The Power of Now proposes that the only way to reach true peace and fulfillment is through being completely present in each moment you experience. There is a part of our mind, called the ego, that derails us by ruminating on the past, speculating about the future, clinging to our painful experiences, and insisting that we will be happy and fulfilled if we can just achieve this goal.

The Power of Now reveals that inner peace and happiness can’t be found in anything external, but rather must be found within by being present. Learn tips and methods for quieting your thoughts and fears to find fulfillment through presence.

Radical Acceptance is a meditative practice wherein we acknowledge what we’re experiencing—positive or negative—and welcome it. It’s a powerful tool that allows us to be fully present in each passing moment. It helps us avoid getting stuck in our own heads.

Tara Brach, a practicing psychologist and devout Buddhist, discusses how we can use Radical Acceptance to live our lives more fully by always bringing our full attention to the present moment and accepting it for what it is. You'll learn how we get trapped in the stories we tell ourselves, and how Radical Acceptance can bring us out of the trance.

Unlimited Power is a classic self-help book that teaches you how to take control of your life. Tony Robbins claims that the key to this is ensuring that your actions, beliefs, and goals all work together and complement each other. He believes that doing so will allow you to harness a level of energy and conviction that would normally be impossible to access, and he says you can use that energy to achieve all of your goals in life.

Robbins is a world-famous life coach, motivational speaker, and business strategist. Our commentary will explore how some of Robbins’s theories have changed since this book’s 1986 publication. We’ll also draw connections to other prominent self-help books like Flow and Extreme Ownership, offering clear and actionable advice on achieving your goals and living a happy, productive life.

Many people assume their ideal life will never be more than fantasy, but in reality, you have the power to create the life you dream about. In this book, life coach and self-help guru Tony Robbins provides insights and strategies to help you take control of every aspect of your life, from your emotions to your focus. In many cases, you can make transformational changes to your life through small adjustments, such as swapping out just one word in your vocabulary.

In this guide you’ll learn how your bad habits are wired in your brain, how to decode your negative emotions to find solutions to them, and how to create your destiny.

This guide compares and contrasts Robbins’s ideas with those of other popular self-help authors, as well as current scientific theories. This will provide you with background and a deeper understanding of the lessons in Awaken the Giant Within, as well as some alternative methods for taking control of your life.

What is the meaning of life? This question has both plagued and motivated humans for centuries, and it’s probably crossed your mind once or twice. But how do we answer this question, and how can we ensure our lives have meaning? Man’s Search for Meaning recounts Viktor Frankl’s experiences in the concentration camps of WWII and the school of therapy he invented to help us confront this very question.

Have you felt like trying to understand and analyze your problems isn’t enough to actually solve them? In The Tools, psychiatrist Phil Stutz and psychotherapist Barry Michels go beyond the common analytical approach to therapy by providing practical strategies for handling life’s challenges and unlocking your potential. They argue that focusing on practical strategies that change your behavior can push you past your mental blocks and limiting beliefs.

In this guide, we’ll examine the authors’ five strategies: embrace pain, accept yourself, love radically, let gratitude guide you, and stay disciplined. We’ll also compare Stutz and Michels’s ideas to those in other books, such as The Obstacle is the Way, and offer additional advice to help you change your behavior for the better.