Monday, May 25, 2015

Book Review: Beyond Willpower -- beyond my commitment level

Beyond Willpower: From stress to success in 40 days, Alexander Loyd, Harmony Books (2015) 
I really wanted to like “Beyond Willpower”. It got a lot of praise and a lot of hype. And I thought it would be good for me. But I came away disappointed. Maybe it’s me, not willing to put the exercises into practice. Maybe it’s how the book tries to marry Christianity and New Age thought together into one syncretistic whole. It just didn’t resonate entirely well with me.
Much of what author Alexander Loyd says sounds good, from the statistic that 97% of self-help books fail due to the fact that every problem stems from the fear that underlies it. Even his definition of success rings true, “True happiness and success mean living in love internally and externally in the present moment, regardless of your current circumstance.” But he hedges his bets in the definition of love and points to God/other, leaving it to the reader to fill in their personal preference.
He does give three main tools, the energy medicine tool, the reprogramming statements, and the heart screen tool. But they seem quirky to use. Moreover, when I was ready to try the basic diagnostic tool that is apparently on-line, I got to a page that asked me to sign up for free newsletters and access, and none of it materialized. At that point, I gave up.
Maybe this will work for you if you have more persistence than I do. It won’t be a matter of willpower, as Loyd makes it clear throughout that willpower works against the subconscious. It will be dedication and commitment, and I didn’t have that at this present moment. Maybe I will come back to this later. And then again, maybe not.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.