REVIEW: "Without self-pity." How to go beyond the limits

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Would you like to be coached and supported on your journey to success by an outstanding personal growth coach, a former SWAT with a business background? If so, Erik Bertrand Larssen, author of No Self-Pity, is the right person for you.

Of course, one should not expect from the book banal shouts in the style: “Forward, monkeys! Or do you think to live forever ?!”, but you need to be ready to face the truth about yourself. Although, to be honest, I do not quite understand what the title of the book is for.

The peculiarity of Larssen is that he makes people change their behavior and life, without feeling that they are sacrificing something.

Adam Ikdal Manager of the Boston Consulting Group in Norway

So I will disappoint those expecting self-flagellation right away: there are no instructions and reasons for masochism in the book. Confidently and bluntly, but progressively and compassionately, the author brings the reader to the realization of the need for changes in life. No one picks an unripe fruit, forcing it to ripen forcibly on the windowsill. Ripe fruits themselves fall into the hands of our consciousness.

about the author

But before we continue reading the book, it would be nice to know a little about the author. The personality of the author is an important factor when choosing books. If the author in practice has not achieved at least some results in the area that he touches on in the book, then, no matter how beautiful and convincing the theory sounds, I would not waste time on such a book.

Eric grew up in Norway. In the class, the boy was always the smallest, and his peers constantly bullied him. When Eric was 12, classmates poured snow on his collar, and this was the last straw. Returning home, the boy decided that he had had enough. He was determined to become the toughest and bravest man in Norway. And the paratroopers seemed to him the ideal.

Six years later, he began a career in the Norwegian Armed Forces. Having passed the test of the legendary "Hell Week" twice, Eric became an officer of the Airborne Forces.

He served in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia along with other NATO troops, notably the British Special Air Service. Received a master's degree in economics. After leaving the army, he worked in the telecommunications industry, was engaged in recruiting, and then began his career as a personal coach and psychotherapist.

Today Eric is the most popular personal performance trainer and consultant in Norway. Among his clients are executives of large companies and Olympic champions, who never dreamed of the heights they reached largely thanks to working with Larssen.

Therefore, we can safely say: the author knows what he is writing about, and he can be trusted.

Larssen method

Eric Bertrand Larssen teaches people to think differently - by comprehending what he himself calls emotional contrasts. He explains how to change your life a little every day in order to build a successful career and become happy.

The main idea of the method is that even imperceptible shifts, becoming habits, can lead to significant changes in life. And this is much easier to achieve than it sounds.

The structure of the book pleases no less than its content. For example, when Larssen writes about goals, he begins by explaining why and how important it is to set goals. Then he explains what a good goal is and, ultimately, how to define it personally for yourself.

We must warn you that there will be few revelations for those who are sophisticated in the topic of personal growth. But there are plenty of opportunities to see old truths in a new light. But what both beginners and pros will get in an overabundance is motivation and inspiration. You will receive new incentives and see new goals.

I finally understood what visualization is and how to use it to achieve my goals. I was glad that there was nothing to do with auto-suggestion here. It's just that the brain gets a clear picture that it needs to bring to life, and starts looking for all sorts of ways, tools and resources.

I am also very skeptical about psychoanalysis. No, I do not believe that the past does not affect our present and future. I just don’t believe that solving past problems requires digging into childhood traumas and dealing with “my crying child”. Therefore, I was very happy with the recognition of the author.

Many people ask, who am I - a kind of psychologist, shrink? I usually answer that I use some psychological tricks, but at the same time I rarely dive into the past. I start from now and work towards the future. I don’t think you should necessarily dig into the past. I am more interested in where the person is at the present time and where he sees himself in the future.

Eric Bertrand Larssen

If your attitude to life, development, self-overcoming and achievement of success is similar to the author's, then you will definitely find for yourself a lot of new practices and advice.

In conclusion, I want to say that the title of the book remained a mystery to me, since I did not find anything ruthless in it. But on the other hand, the subtitle - "Push the boundaries of your capabilities" - fully justified itself: I saw that I could set bolder and loftier goals, since I could really achieve them. And this happened not as a result of suggestive pumping of emotions, but in the process of getting acquainted with the material based on research and practical experience of people of different occupations and characters.

So, even if you think that you are living to the maximum and set important goals for yourself, I suggest: challenge yourself, read the book by Eric Bertrand Larsen “No self-pity. Push the boundaries of your possibilities …