Amy Morin - 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do book review

In a nutshell (272 pages), Morin lays out, in a non-judgemental way, what we all do to make ourselves mentally weaker. Despite that fact, and despite the title, this book is not about making you feel inferior or bad. Morin goes through each of the 13 things with anecdotes, theories, and then actionable and tactical strategies which will help you to see, understand and overcome the things all of us can be guilty of and how to grow mentally stronger.

What I got out of it

The most striking benefit of this book is how human the mistakes described are. Oftentimes these 13 things can be well-intentioned, the side-effect of being well-raised and having good manners. But there is a difference between being polite, and being used or abused. Morin shows the differences with the stories of others to highlight that yes, these things happen, and yes, you too can overcome them.

What was difficult

Morin actually does a great job staying consistent throughout the book. Where many writers may become lazy assuming readers “get it” by a given point, Morin sticks to the same format of stories, facts and quotes. It is possible, however, that you will “get it” and want to skip ahead to the actionable lesson part of the chapter. I hope you don’t.

Recommendation

This is a good read for each and every single person. No matter what you’ve overcome, no matter what challenges you are facing today this book will help inform, align and strengthen a positive and winning mentality. And feel free to use the format to your advantage if you feel you want to skip sections of a chapter, it’s okay! But I hope you give every chapter a fair try.