Book SummaryYour Erroneous Zones, by Wayne Dyer

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Your Erroneous Zones

In Your Erroneous Zones, Wayne W. Dyer writes that you can be happy—if only you’d stop getting in your own way. Dyer argues that the only things standing between you and your happiness are your “erroneous zones”: self-defeating practices that paralyze you and keep you from living a fulfilling life. By recognizing these internal hurdles and understanding why you have them, you’ll be able to eliminate them and start living the life you want.

Dyer began his career as a professor and therapist. His lectures on positive thinking and speaking strategies caught the attention of a literary agent, who convinced Dyer to put his ideas down on paper. The result was Your Erroneous Zones, published in 1976. The book sold millions of copies and launched Dyer’s career as an author and speaker. He went on to write dozens of books,...

Your Erroneous Zones Summary Erroneous Zones Keep You From Being Happy

Happiness may seem elusive, but Dyer asserts that you can choose to be happy at any moment, regardless of what’s happening around you. The problem, says Dyer, is that you prevent yourself from being happy by allowing unproductive emotions to rule.

(Shortform note: Dyer contends that we keep ourselves from being happy, but others argue that the human brain simply doesn’t default to happiness. In The Happiness Trap, therapist Russ Harris explains that our brain has evolved three traits to help us survive: 1) the ability to detect and avoid threats, 2) the ability to fit into a group, and 3) an accumulate-and-improve mentality. Even though we no longer face the same threats to survival that our ancestors faced, our programming still leads us to respond strongly to the modern world’s less menacing threats—being alone, being left out, or not having enough money. This leads us to a natural state of discontentment.)

Dyer argues that feelings aren’t passive occurrences; rather, they’re active reactions within your control. While...

Your Erroneous Zones Summary How to Eliminate Your Erroneous Zones

Now that you know what erroneous zones are and why you hold onto them, we’ll discuss specific erroneous zones in detail and Dyer’s tips for eliminating them.

Erroneous Zone #1: Relying on Other People’s Approval or Permission

The first behavior that keeps you from being happy is relying on other people’s approval or permission. Dyer explains that there’s nothing wrong with asking for other people’s input, but it becomes detrimental when you trust their opinions more than your own and can’t act without someone else’s go-signal. By behaving in this way, you give more value to what others want or believe than what you want or believe.

(Shortform note: Relying on other people’s approval or permission is a form of codependency, a stress-induced pattern of behavior that dictates how you treat another person and how you allow the other person to influence you. While Dyer discusses how this behavior means you put too much value on someone else’s input, he doesn’t go into detail about how you can be on the other end—dependent on another person’s compliance. In _[Codependent No...

Shortform Exercise: Overcome Your Erroneous Zones

Dyer writes that your erroneous zones are self-defeating practices that keep you from living a happy, fulfilled life. In this exercise, reflect on your erroneous zones, and come up with a plan to overcome them.

Think about a recent decision you made. Did you make this decision based on what you wanted or on what others wanted? How did this decision affect your overall happiness?