Name: soph 's review of The Mountain Is You by Brianna Wiest
Item: The Mountain Is You
Rating: 2
Author: soph

Brianna Wiest



This book is about self-sabotage.

Why we do it, when we do it, and how to stop doing it—for good.

Coexisting but conflicting needs create self-sabotaging behaviors. This is why we resist efforts to change, often until they feel completely futile. But by extracting crucial insight from our most damaging habits, building emotional intelligence by better understanding our brains and bodies, releasing past experiences at a cellular level, and learning to act as our highest potential future selves, we can step out of our own way and into our potential.

For centuries, the mountain has been used as a metaphor for the big challenges we face, especially ones that seem impossible to overcome. To scale our mountains, we actually have to do the deep internal work of excavating trauma, building resilience, and adjusting how we show up for the climb.

In the end, it is not the mountain we master, but ourselves.

Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery

The Mountain Is You

David Reina

Your purpose is, first and foremost, just to be here.

Aditi Desai

Human beings are guided by comfort. They stay close to what feels familiar and reject what doesn't, even if it's objectively bette for them.

You know you are going to enjoy reading this piece, when you could relate to the very first line you just read

MUCH LIKE NATURE, life is very often working in our favor, even when it seems like we are only being faced with ad- versity, discomfort, and change.

Mal 

You must release your old self into the fire of your vision and be willing to think in a way you have never even tried before. You must mourn the loss of your younger self, the person who has gotten you this far but who is no longer equipped to carry you onward. You must envision and become one with your future self, the hero of your life that is going to lead you from here. The task in front of you is silent, simple, and monumental. It is a feat most do not ever get to the point of attempting. You must now learn agility, resilience, and self-understanding. You must change completely, never to be the same again.

Claudine

At the core of the things we most fear is a message that we are trying to send ourselves about what we really care about. If we can identify what we want to protect, we can find healthier and more secure ways to do it.

This is true of everything in human life. Regardless of the potential consequences, human nature has revealed itself to be incredibly self-serving. People have an almost superhuman way of doing whatever they feel compelled to do, regardless of whom it could hurt, what wars it could spawn, or what future would be put at risk. When you consider this, you begin to realize that if you’re keeping something in your life, there has to be a reason you want it there. The only question is why.

Self-sabotage is not a way we hurt ourselves; it’s a way we try to protect ourselves.

For most people, the abstract fear is really a representation of a legitimate fear. Because it would be too scary to actually dwell on the real fear, we project those feelings onto issues or circumstances that are less likely to occur. If the situation has an extremely low likelihood of becoming reality, it therefore becomes a “safe” thing to worry about, because subconsciously, we already know it isn’t going to happen. Therefore, we have an avenue to express our feelings without actually endangering ourselves.

In the end, self-sabotage is very often just a maladaptive coping mechanism, a way we give ourselves what we need without having to actually address what that need is.

...self-sabotage is simply the presence of an unconscious need that is being fulfilled by the self-sabotaging behavior.

Celina Hoang Vo ♥︎

Many people say that you have to love yourself first before you can love others, but really, if you learn to love others, you will learn to love yourself.o ts O a

When we set up judgments for others, they become rules that we have to play by, too. 

When we let go of what isn't right for us, we create space to discover what is. However, doing so requires the tre- mendous courage to put our pride aside and see things tor what they really are.

When you find yourself struggling with something, you have to ask yourself: Do I actually want to do this? Do you want the job, or do you just like how the title sounds? Are you in love with the person, or do you like the idea of the relationship? Are you still holding an outdated idea of what your greatest success will be, and if so, what would it look like to let that go?

Sometimes, your dreams for your life are adopted from other people's preferences. In other cases, you determine what you want and then you outgrow your old ambitions. 

Sometimes, we fight endlessly to try to force ourselves to want something that we do not really want, and it always leaves us empty, because it isn't a genuine desire. This is different than lacking motivation or experiencing resis- tance. Our inability to perform is not based in fear or lack of skill, it is based in an inherent knowing that this is not what we want for our lives, and perhaps we're feeling lost or unable to change our path.

It is very hard to show up as the person you want to be when you are surrounded by an environment that makes you feel like a person you aren't.

 Nothing positive, nor beautiful, flows from chaos. Deep down, we know this. 

It's no longer about how many days you really wanted to go to the gym; it's about how many days you did. It's no longer about wanting to show up for your friends; it's whether or not you did. It's no longer about the great ideas you had about how to change your business; its about whether or not you did. Stop accepting your own excuses. 

When we have a goal, dream, or plan, there is no measure of intent. It is only whether you did it or did not. Any other reason you offer for not showing up and doing the kis simply you stating that you prioritize that reason ver your ultimate ambition, which means that it will al- ways take precedence in your life.

Instead of perfection, focus on progress. Instead of having something done perfectly, focus on just getting it done. From there, you can edit, build, grow, and develop it to exactly what your vision is. But if you don't get started, you'll never arrive.

Don't worry about doing it well; just do it. Don't worry about writing a bestseller, just write. Don't worry about making a Grammy-winning hit, just make music. Don't worry about failing, just keep showing up and trying. At first, all that matters is that you do what you really want to do. From there, you can learn from your mistakes and over time get to the place where you really want to be.

WHAT IS SELF-SABOTAGE? Self-sabotage is when you have two conflicting desires. One is conscious, one is unconscious. You know how you want to move your life forward, and yet you are still, for some reason, stuck.

Self-sabotage is not a way we hurt ourselves; it's a way we try to protect ourselves.

. It is knowing you have so much to be grateful for and excited about and yet worrying anywa,.

I think they used a lot of the popular buzz words for therapy talk. But she did make some good thinking points and it was pretty short so it was easy to finish. 

soph 

Kate W

I think out of all the self help books I have read this one is the most useful. And trust me I have read a lots of self help books. A lot of the times I would just read a paragraph, take a pause and say damn this is so me. I felt like this book is about me. The writing is so good and it really gives you a look on your own behaviour and a deep insight on how you can change that. I got a paperback version which is full of underlined texts in it now. I am going to reread it again. If you are someone who has struggled with self sabotage and negative self talk and you know feeling like a failure or triggered by something oftenly that changes your behaviour around others, this book is for you.

Rutik 

I like the framing around the self and understanding how to face/relate to thoughts that may go in and out of my head. The idea of being present in the moment and consciously seeing what reactionary acts/habits I may have on a daily basis is a good reminder. Will need to pick this short read up again every now and then to continue to take in this message.

Eric Drake

repetitive at times but there were some chapters I found inch resting

Dhara Trivedi

Some eyeopening stuff that also help in understanding why others behave the way they do in the context of (potentially) their own self-sabotage. 

My main concern is flow and structure. Great points made here and there but I felt constantly unsure about the direction it was taking because there wasn’t a clear build up to a main point, and this definitely contributed to the memorability of points made. (This is echoed by some reviews I’ve read here, too, apparently!)

Some eyeopening stuff that also help in understanding why others behave the way they do in the context of (potentially) their own self-sabotage. 

My main concern is flow and structure. Great points made here and there but I felt constantly unsure about the direction it was taking because there wasn’t a clear build up to a main point, and this definitely contributed to the memorability of points made. (This is echoed by some reviews I’ve read here, too, apparently!)

It is an easy read, however the ideas are common and popular nowadays. 

Nina Alexandra Bacrau

Lucy Marshall

Didn’t actually finish this, I just really really couldn’t get into it. Felt like reading from a list of just problems and then the solutions they gave weren’t really solutions? Your self sabotaging behaviour is this,and what you should do to help this is to just stop doing this… I just didn’t get along with it very well unfortunately.

milena

It’s a really good book. 
In fact, more complete that I have imagined.

Raag Sudha

Pretty interesting book, it had some very insightful quotes here and there. But I do know the author is a ThoughtCatalog writer and not necessarily a licensed therapist or psychologist. I think a lot of the writing was good sense. It was hard to follow in some parts because it feels like she is not very used to writing books, and more used to writing listicles or articles because the book felt disjointed at certain points. But there were definitely a few nuggets of wisdom and key takeaways that I learnt from this book. Worth a read every now and then to remember your purpose and realise how to overcome self-sabotaging behaviours.

Erin

This book tells us to face our true feelings first before we move on not escape and do sth else. It explains about science of mental life as well. 

Nav 

I loved everything about this book. This was a short read with an immense amount of helpful information. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. Brianna Wiest thoughtfully acknowledged and explained all the different ways we have been sabotaging ourselves. It definitely made me more aware of myself and my behaviour during various situations and thoughts I have in relation to them. The book also offers different methods and techniques to transform these sabotages into self-mastery depending on the ways you are sabotaging yourself. This is a must-read for everyone. 

I'm excited to read Brianna Wiest's other books too. :)

Diana_Ioana

I definitely sensed that some of the topics were a bit repetitive, but that's fine for me. It was really difficult to read this book. I realized and understood many things about myself that I didn't really tap into until now. I don't think this is the type of book that will hand you the answers, but it will help you realize how or if you are self-sabotaging. I will definitely read this book again.

Rina

It’s really inspiring, but at the same time it’s just a remix of the most common advice every non-fiction book gives you. But it’s still a good read to get inspired to make some changes for 2022 #thatgirl

Mal &
The Mountain Is You by Brianna Wiest

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The Mountain Is You by Brianna Wiest