Rethinking Positive Thinking

Inside the New Science of Motivation

By: Gabriele Oettingen

Narrated by: Karen Saltus

From pop music to political speeches to commercials, the general message is the same: look on the bright side, be optimistic in the face of adversity, and focus on your dreams. And whether we're trying to motivate ourselves to lose weight, snag a promotion at work, or run a marathon, we're told time and time again that focusing on fulfilling our wishes will make them come true. Gabriele Oettingen draws on more than 20 years of research in the science of human motivation to reveal why the conventional wisdom falls short. The obstacles that we think prevent us from realizing our deepest wishes can actually lead to their fulfillment.

Based on her groundbreaking research and large-scale scientific studies, Oettingen introduces a new way to visualize the future, called mental contrasting. It combines focusing on our dreams with visualizing the obstacles that stand in our way. In Rethinking Positive Thinking, Oettingen applies mental contrasting to three key areas of personal change - becoming healthier, nurturing personal and professional relationships, and performing better at work. She introduces readers to the key phases of mental contrasting using a proven four-step process called WOOP - Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan - and offers advice and exercises on how to best apply this method to daily life. Through mental contrasting, people in Oettingen's studies have become significantly more motivated to quit smoking, lose weight, get better grades, sustain fulfilling relationships, and negotiate more effectively in business situations. Whether you are unhappy and struggling with serious problems or you just want to improve, discover, and explore new opportunities, this book will deepen your ideas about human motivation and help you boldly chart a new path ahead.

©2014 Gabriele Oettingen (P)2014 Gildan Media LLC

Critic reviews

"How do you get from dreaming to doing? This exciting and important book shows you how to turn your dreams into reality. You'll be surprised at how thoroughly it overturns conventional wisdom." (Carol S. Dweck, Lewis & Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology, Stanford University, and author of Mindset.)

WOOP is Wonderful but its Messenger is Meh.

This book helped me achieve my WISH of finding a solid alternative to positive thinking and "Just Hang In There" cat posters. It's written by an academic so there is a lot of focus on reviewing study after study. It drives the point home that you can rely on these techniques to get your desired OUTCOME. However it can also get a bit tedious and I found myself tuning it out after a while. A major OBSTACLE is the narrator whose reads in the classic "self-help" style. The one that is cloying, ever chipper, and breathlessly effervescent whether talking about organizational tips or suicide. Maybe I listen to too many podcasts and author read works, but I like a more relaxed and authentic reading of the material. That being said I PLAN to listen to this title again in the future to refresh and reinforce the techniques of WOOP. The message is that good.

I've been studying goals for a long time ...

This is probably the best book on actually getting what you want in life, without all that wishy washy stuff that keeps people stuck and confused This book is a life changer ... can't wait to implement this everyday for the rest of my life!

Very good information, but should be shorter

I liked the book, but I thought there was a lot of extra information that didn't add much value. I think this probably would've been better as a white paper. I would have liked more examples of how to utilize the techniques.

Simple but LIFE CHANGING TECHNIQUE

This is a scientific way of looking at goal setting and the underlying motivation needed to achieve goals. I just finished listening to the audiobook and I was already able to use the technique very effectively. EVERYONE should read this book and use the WOOP technique to help achieve their goals. Much better than the more popular SMART technique. The book walks the listener through scientific experiments exploring how positive thinking effects acheivment of goals. The general conclusion is that positive thinking alone does not help us achieve our goals. Then it further explores what we can do to improve our chances of achievement. On the negative side, the voice of the narrator can be a bit annoying and the experiments can be a bit repetitive. I will recommend to everyone I know!

Too much science

Fantastic take home message. There is too much recounting of scientific experiments that makes the book difficult to get to the take home message. I am a scientist and appreciate the author's intent to show evidence but it makes for a difficult read. Chapter 8, the last chapter has the message and style.

Ground Breaking message -- teeth gritting narrator

It helps a lot to pause the book periodically and see the author deliver her message and imagine her text in her own voice. WOOP is great stuff and 'positive thinking' (aka maladaptive daydreaming) is even worse in my experience than the author suggests. This book is a great antidote to the whole 'upbeat pose to go upward' cruel side message of so many self help books.

Interesting but narration is worst ever!

So happy I bought the book, because the narrator's voice is really annoying. Better suited for children's books!

The narrator is terrible for this book.

Would you consider the audio edition of Rethinking Positive Thinking to be better than the print version?

The narrator's voice made me feel like I'm listening to a corporate training video about safety, bringing back my zoning out, falling asleep, boredom experience, just waiting for it to be over.

I'm better off reading this book.

The best books on personal motivation that I’ve read or listen to.

I liked this book a lot. Prof Oettingen is not as good at storytelling as some other more well known authors who write in the behavioral science area such as Malcom Gladwell, Charles Duhigg and Daniel Pink. But what she lacks in storytelling, she more than makes up for with her professional credentials and evidence based research to back-up her claims.

Prof Oettingen provides a rational explanation and numerous examples for why positive thinking alone does not work. That is, our sub- conscious mind does not prompt us to take action because it believes we have already attain the goal. She also provides numerous examples of where her method of mental contrasting and implementation intentions (WOOP) did work to help her subjects achieve their goals and why it works.

Most importantly, Prof Oettingen outlines in simply steps and layman’s terms how anyone can integrate WOOP Into their daily routine to help them achieve goals that may be hard, but otherwise feasible and attainable. The steps she outlined in the book are simply to implement. But I found it even easier to implement the steps after I downloaded and started using the free WOOP app.

Good content. Terrible writing.

The premise and research is fine but it's like listening to a never ending lecture by Ben Stein. I started using WOOP myself with great success and am teaching my kids as well.