Book Review: You're Not That Great (but neither is anyone else) by Elan Gale
Anyways, I was really excited to read this. The book itself is not very long, and it's pretty small. There was a lot of interesting topics and suggestions within the book. There were a lot of relatable things in the book, and he kept a really sarcastic yet honest voice throughout.
He talks a lot about the concept of rejecting "positive thinking". In fact, he basically says to embrace the suck because you won't get better if you're constantly being praised. He has a point. We are conditioned to give praise to others even if they don't meet the expectations because we don't want to "hurt their feelings". How is that doing any good for people? Ever heard of the saying you just gotta rip the Band-Aid off?
While I do think that encouragement can be helpful to many people, myself included, I do agree with what he's saying. Not everyone can be the President of the United States, an astronaut, or a professional football player. There are certain circumstances, events that unfold that create these paths for people. It's not doing any favor to anyone by giving others false praise. How is anyone going to get better or work harder if they're being told they are doing everything right? The short answer? They won't. Now I will say that some people try the best that they can and pursue their dreams, but it doesn't work out. This definitely happens, but having realistic goals will help in this.
There's something to be said about telling people the honest truth. Honestly? None of us are that great. The majority of us are very ordinary and will lead very safe lives. Is there anything wrong with that? Absolutely not!
BUT... let's stop giving false encouragement to people. How about we tell people how it is. If people find out that they're horrible at that sport or game, then they're probably going to work hard to get better! If someone told me that I sucked at golf and that at that moment I wasn't good enough to play in college, I would then work my ass off to prove them wrong if that was what I wanted to do! I would much rather have someone tell me that I wasn't good enough or that I wasn't trying hard enough than just giving me false praise and hope. Let's stop coddling people. It takes a lot of work and not just talent to get to where you want to be.
While this concept can seem kind of negative or morbid, I do think there is a lot to take away from it! I found it to be a great read and I highly recommend it!
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