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Review: 59 Seconds by Richard Wiseman

A self-help book that is actually backed up by peer-reviewed research – find out how to be happier, procrastinate less, and improve your relationships

RICHARD WISEMAN is the UK’s only . Judging by this book, his role is to explain why people behave the way they do and thus, perhaps, give them more control over their lives.

This is a self-help book, but with a difference: almost everything in it is underpinned by peer-reviewed and often fascinating research. It could actually help you be a little happier, perform better at interviews, procrastinate less, improve your relationships, reduce your stress levels and be a better parent. The only problem with serving psychological insights in bite-size portions is that it necessitates the over-simplification of complex issues, which can lead to frustrating contradictions. For example, two of Wiseman’s suggestions for improving creativity are to work alone and to fill your world with the colour green, while other research has found that it is better to collaborate and behold the colour blue.

59 Seconds: Think a little, change a lot

Richard Wiseman

Macmillan

Topics: Books and art

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