Stand Firm - Resisting the Self-Improvement Craze

"So rather than urging you to think positive , listen to your feelings , trust your inner voice , and other refrains of the self-help industry, Brinkmann advocates their opposite in seven steps, which include Cut out the navel-gazing; Focus on the negative in your life; Suppress your feelings; Dwell on the past; and Sack your coach . I must say, they work for me." Carol Midgely, The Times "Stand firm is a brilliant, funny, liberating and significant critique of the dominant and individualizing hamster wheel culture that we live in... Brinkmann's book is for the people - that is all, for all of us." - Politiken "A satirical, but also very deep alternative to the current compulsion for self-developement." - Berlingske Tidende "Every once in a while a book comes along that is both ironic and serious, both funny and challenging, both timely and wise. Stand Firm, with its seven steps toward living against our accelerated culture of neoliberal 'self-realization', is such a book. It should be on the bookshelf of every person concerned with the state of the world or with the state of themselves" - Todd May, Clemson University " Stand Firm is an exhilarating broadside against the intense modern pressure to do more, be more, to become happier and more productive, and to 'find yourself'. In championing Stoicism over the relentless and exhausting wild-goose chase of self-help, Svend Brinkmann - though he might not like the fact - has written a book that truly helps." - Oliver Burkeman, The Guardian "This wonderfully funny and intelligent book not only exposes the foolishness of the self-help cult, but also offers a concrete and appealing alternative, reminding us that philosophy is as relevant for living our lives today as it has ever been." - Carl Cederstrom, Stockholm Business School "As designs for life go, it may just be brilliantly outlandish enough to work." - Irish Independent

Svend Brinkmann was living the relatively sedate life of a professor of psychology at Aalborg University when Stand Firm was published. The book was an overnight sensation in Denmark and catapulted him into the media limelight as a leading public intellectual and cultural critic. Svend now travels widely to host events and lecture on the big questions of modern life. He has featured in several documentaries, and presented Live Fast on Danish television and the Meaningful Life series on national radio.

Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Cut out the navel-gazing 2. Focus on the negative in your life 3. Put on the No hat 4. Suppress your feelings 5. Sack your coach 6. Read a novel not a self-help book or biography 7. Dwell on the past Notes