I think I would have been screaming, "give me the strategies, the tactics, the techniques...!"
But I realised at some point that despite knowing a great deal, I was still under-performing and not terribly happy.
I now see the value in having significant shifts in perspective, getting deep insights and having a more thorough understanding of how we actually operate and what gives us clarity and results. And even when results are slow to come, perhaps due to insufficient experience or unfavorable situations for instance, the day-to-day journey to better results is far more pleasant.
Asking better questions, changing/testing our assumptions and looking at experiences from different angles can go a long way towards making satisfying progress. The children yearn to produce, not to consume. This is interesting because most adults treat children like they were consumption machines.
The overall notion of the book is that using willpower (which is defined as "the strength of will to carry out one's decisions, wishes or plans", is not a very productive strategy because although it helps to get off the sofa to go for a run, it won't help us get into "flow" or "the zone", which is where we perform at our best.
"It's when we act on a thought, by attempting to suppress or replace it, that we bring it to life."
So the author suggests that we still our minds instead and allow the thoughts to settle (like fine sand in water) so that we can see things more clearly again rather than the futility of trying to fight the thoughts.
I'm not sure how open one has to be in order to accept the suggestions in this book - perhaps the author is preaching to the choir - but I think it has some helpful stories, prompts and questions even for the uninitiated
