Description: Cognitive Therapy has been clinically proven to be as effective as medication for treating depression and more effective than medication for treating insomnia.

REBT preceded and is now a subset of cognitive therapy. Dr. Albert Ellis invented REBT ( Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy ) in the 1950s when he was practicing traditional Freudian psychoanalysis. Dr. Ellis noticed that is patients who got better changed the way they thought about their situations. Being well versed in western philosophy Dr. Ellis recalled the great Stoic philosopher Epictetus who once said

“People are disturbed not by events, but by the views which they take of them.”

Ellis started experimenting with purposefully helping his patients change the way they viewed their situations. Many of them, even ones who had been in therapy for years, got better rapidly.

Dr. Ellis created REBT which later evolved changed and became known as “cognitive therapy”.

REBT is based on the idea that thoughts cause emotions and influence behavior. Emotions as well behaviors can be changed by disputing irrational beliefs with facts and logic, forming new rational beliefs, and behaving in a way that is consistent with the new rational beliefs.

Unlike cognitive therapy, REBT places strong emphasis on modifying emotions and modifying behavior in addition to disputing irrational beliefs. REBT also posits that there are 12 core irrational beliefs that most people have that cause them to experience unpleasant emotions needlessly.

In “A Guide To Rational Living” Dr. Ellis explains REBT, its methods, and the then top 10 irrational beliefs. Ellis is not known for being a great writer, but in this book he pulls it together. The tone is direct as well as clear, free of psychobabble, and you never doubt that you are being addressed by one of the great psychological minds of the 20th century.

Anecdote: I first learned of REBT in college when I was seeing a campus psychologist. One day I told him that I did not understand him when he told to “deal with my feelings”. I asked him what exactly do people do, when they “deal with their feelings”. The counselor was quiet for a few moments. He then wrote down the name of this book, which I borrowed from the campus library.

Using REBT is a lot like jogging, particularly for large issues or personal development. It has to be replied repeatedly and consistently.

However, there have been a few times when I have been upset, used the techniques for rationally analyzing my thoughts, and felt my negative emotions go away instantly as if a switch had been turned off.

No drugs, no venting to counselor or a friend, no comfort activities….just thinking.

Potential Turn-Offs: There are multiple editions of this book. To get the latest edition with the most content make sure you have the 3rd 1975 printing(august). It should have 23 chapters. Earlier editions do not.

What I Got out of it: Many means of personal development encourage people to be dependent on things outside of themselves. Charismatic personal motivation speakers, expensive CD sets, books, life coaches and so on.

REBT teaches you can learn to help yourself and move under your own power.

Learn more about A Guide To Rational Living

From the GrowthPop team: parts of this review used Cron’s review on Steve Pavlina’s forums as source content. Cron has kindly let us keep the review live while giving him credit. Please take a look at his original review here.

Growth Potential: Many, if not most people are caught between, on the one hand, their natural desires for pleasure, productivity, pride, worldly wealth and success, sexual satisfaction, and the right to choose their actions in service of their deepest happiness, and on the other, a moral code that tells them that such “self-ish” desires are immoral and evil, and that in order to be “good,” they must sacrifice their personal happiness to achieve the happiness of others. Caught between these their natural desires and the moral prohibitions they have been taught, they find themselves 1) acting half-heartedly to achieve their goals, as if they must apologize for their weakness of character, and 2) feeling guilty for their “self-ish-ness,” making them easy prey for preachers and politicians who want to manipulate them into supporting their programmes. By clarifying this dichotomy and offering a solid philosophical solution to it, Atlas Shrugged, as just one of its many gifts, supports human beings in passionately pursuing their highest vision and bringing their most precious gifts to the world.

Pop Potential: It is typically listed as one of the most important and popular books in the world. 50 years after its publication, it still sells hundreds of thousands of copies a year. It is currently being made into a movie and that will star Angelina Jolie.

“Get Real” Potential: Unfortunately, for all of its strengths, the novel is so demanding and unapologetic in its themes and philosophy that many people get turned off and angry, and stop reading rather than deal with the issues it raises. For this reason, the book has many detractors who have not actually read it, and those that have typically have a shallow understanding of it after only one reading.

What I Got out of it: This book is one of the most important books I have ever read, by far. Nothing else really comes close, except perhaps Sex, Ecology, and Spirituality by Ken Wilber. It completely transformed how I understood, my Self, Society, Sex, Philosophy, Politics, and pride. I have read it over 20 times, and every time I read it, I feel like it was a wise investment of my time because I get more inspired to bring my gifts to the world with my whole heart and soul, and to love life more fully than I have been, however much that is. It is an anthem to human possibility and the spirit of beauty that makes life worth living.

Learn more about Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Buy the book: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Growth Potential: Personally, I don’t follow his bible to the letter, but I use some of techniques and feel much less worried all the time: worried that I’m forgetting something, or which movie was that I wanted to see, or “did I forget my bills this month?” Allen’s mantra is a good one, “Do it, delegate it, defer it, or drop it.” One example: put your morning todos in a place that you will go look at in the morning. If you put something on the bag you take to work, you’ll see it. If you put it on your desk, you might not. So now I always store information in places that I will literally trip over, and it works!

Pop Potential: This book or audio is really for everyone. That said, this is a national bestseller with testimonials from Ken Blanchard (The One Minute Manager), The Wall Street Journal, Fortune and Entrepreneur magazines, he’s got the credentials. With great quotes from famous artists, writers, scientists and political leaders. Even so, you don’t have to be a self-help or transformation junkie, this is for anyone who does anything at anytime ever. Do you ever go shopping? Buy groceries? Do anything? Get this book.

“Get Real” Potential: I listened to the audio version, and the narrator is a little slow. The book repeats itself a lot, which is pretty good for remembering stuff if you missed it, but Mr Not-So-Exciting leaves me a little dry (his guilty pleasure is trimming his hedges). He also calls his email inbox an “inbasket” … I don’t feel like I need to explain my feelings on that.

What I Got out of it: I got a few techniques for organizing my head that I wouldn’t do without. I’m not a convert, I won’t be putting on his brand of black sneakers or buying the kool aid, but I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to enjoy their life with a little less worry. I’d then go pick up the Four Hour Workweek and move to Europe. I’d say more, but I have an “inbasket” to take care of.

Purchase Getting Things Done, by David Allen