Watch What You Think: The How-To Guide to Sanity In Turbulent Times by Michael Roberts

 Watch What You Think: The How-To Guide to Sanity In Turbulent Times by Michael Roberts | Book Review

"Watch What You Think" by Michael Roberts is a book on finding inner peace, self-awareness, and overcoming human chaos wrought by its complexities. Through a combination of personal anecdotes and practical exercises, Roberts guides readers on a transformative journey, encouraging them to cultivate mindfulness and embrace a more harmonious existence amidst the noise of everyday life.

A cross-section of personal reflections integrated with actions, the volume guides readers through internal chaos to even embrace a higher sense of mindfulness. More than just observing thoughts, reshaping perspectives, or practising mental resilience, this book serves as a practical blueprint for personal growth and emotional healing.

In this book, the author first learnt about the "egoic mind", its trappings, and how complaining strengthens the egoic mind, which controls a person's thoughts. However, the real turning point came when the author learnt to "catch" his negative thoughts before they ran wild, like a horse that's hard to stop. This shift was a pivotal change in his life.

The author also offers advice on how we are stronger than the monsters in our heads. Our primary objective ought to be to regain our inner peace if we are able to confront them. My favourite chapter is "Your Mind is a Garden", which beautifully illustrates the concept of nurturing positive thoughts while weeding out the negative ones. By cultivating our mental landscape with care and attention, we can foster a more resilient mindset and promote overall well-being. He shares how incredible changes happened in his life.

Roberts's reflections on the trap of egoic thinking within many of us are quite relatable and eye-opening. His analogy of the mind as a garden in need of careful cultivation hits home, as it provides an effective framework to understand how to nurture something positive within oneself. 

By recognising the weeds of negativity and self-doubt, we can begin to prune them away, allowing the flowers of self-acceptance and gratitude to flourish. This process not only enriches our inner world but also enhances our relationships and interactions with others, creating a ripple effect of positivity.

The way the conversation shifts to tying complaining to feeding the ego has the potential to actually catalyse changes in thought patterns, which is a highlight of the book. Roberts has a great way of breaking down complicated ideas into language that is easy to understand.

This book helps you uncover your true self by confronting your inner chaos. By making you confront the chaos within yourself, this book also leads you through a path to inner peace and transformation. This book teaches you how to overcome ego, how to embrace the art of self-awareness, and how to navigate inner turmoil.

It provides a path to eternal peace and acts as a guide for your own transformation. Furthermore, sanity, in other words, is peace within yourself, but oftentimes it is easier said than done to attain this peacefulness. This book makes you aware and helps you take action to rewire your thoughts, for it is your thoughts and the awareness of your thoughts that help generate inner peace.

Out of all the chapters, the ones in which the author talks about how constant complaining and having low self-esteem are important reasons why we can't find peace and happiness within ourselves resonated with me the most. 

Overall, I find the book to be straightforward while also being profound, moving, and thought-provoking. Everyone ought to read it at least once, in my opinion.

Purchase Watch What You Think here.

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