Official Review: Purposely Positive by Joel Lindeman D.C.

[Amanda Deck]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Purposely Positive" by Joel Lindeman D.C..]

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3 out of 4 stars

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In Purposely Positive: How to Live an Intentional and Inspired Life, Joel Lindeman discusses how to overcome the brain’s natural propensity for negativity. Though a necessary survival instinct, overcoming negativity when it surfaces needlessly allows you to “feel like you are on the right path, inspired from within and living purposefully”. To help the reader put this into action, Lindeman has bracketed each chapter with inspirational quotes at the beginning and Purposely Positive Exercises at the end. He wants to show people that the world – humanity in general – needs each of us operating at our very best. He walks the reader through the things that hold us back: fear, low self-esteem, guilt, shame, etc., and offers the exercises to take a close look at those and demolish them. Next are positive habits of thinking and doing to replace them with.

The extreme informality of this work surprised me. “Get all analytical on that thought,” is an example of how informal it is. Also, some readers may be taken aback by the continual asides, jokes, and almost-off-the-subject references. It’s so close to how I think and talk myself that it amused more than annoyed me. This chatty prose worked in that, when making a serious point, it was phrased memorably even if it seemed silly. A line like that that I liked is: At the end of the exercise, be sure to look over all the absurdity you let your thoughts get away with.

Many of the issues Lindeman discusses are standard things that I’ve heard many times before. The strength of his work, in my opinion, is in his unusual and casual approach to dealing with them. There were a few chapters and exercises that certainly inspired me to rethink my usual perspective that “the world is a terrible place, so why bother?” His book offers a fun and friendly reason to bother and ways to do so. One of his lessons that I found particularly striking is “Every diving board dips some before it propels you. When you view your challenges as the ‘dip before the launch’ (again, the dip and the launch are not necessarily of the same magnitude), you will realize there are learning opportunities in every perceived negative situation”.

I wasn’t as enamored of the constant references to other works, shows, and music groups. Many of them I knew, but I’m not sure how representative I am. On the other hand, they’re so varied, it seems likely that everyone will get at least a few of the references. They’re not strictly necessary to understand the points he makes, just to add interest to his chatter.

The book definitely needs to be given another round of proofreading. I rate it 3 out of 4 stars. With the errors corrected, I’d rate it a 4. If you’re in the mood for an unconventional, slightly off-the-wall undertaking that will surely help you gain inspiration to find and feel the positive in life, get started with Joel Lindeman’s Purposely Positive.

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Purposely Positive
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[Laurina Michael Olowoniran]

... and I'm definitely reading this book! That line - how to overcome the brain’s natural propensity for negativity - caught me. I definitely need some of those. I think it would be an interesting read because I like books that are friendly and fun to read. Beautiful review.