Best for:
Those who are ready to examine and evaluate a huge sequence of strategies and frameworks (some outdated or woo-woo) for practical self-improvement. Also those those who like questions, exercises, and activities centered around self improvement.
Difficulty to digest:
Awaken the giant within may be more difficult to get through because of its sheer length and content density. Each section unloads massive amounts of information, which need to be implemented in real life and experimented with. While the writing is simple to understand, it may take several reads or one slow, extended read to unpack and try all the concepts.
Key Insights:
Awaken The Giant Within is a massive amount of text, with a considerably high number of ideas to examine. The first two sections deliver countless exercises and frameworks for taking control of
your life and increasing happiness. The next two sections are focus on putting these techniques to work in your life, in a more practical way. We’ll examine just a few of the ideas within the book here. Gain control of your destiny by conditioning your mind. A huge section of the book is dedicated to convincing you that you’re
in control of your own destiny. Ultimately, you are responsible for how your life turns out. By conditioning your mind in certain ways, it becomes easier to reach your goals. For example, examining beliefs which limit your potential such as ‘I’ll never be rich’. Once you know, you can then train yourself to stop that train of thought and replace it with another thought such as ‘my hard work will pay off financially’.
Eventually, this exercise will train your brain to provide positive thoughts the majority of the time.
Robbins also spends time talking about the type and quality of your thoughts. He champions the use of powerful and frequent questions (why does this always happen to me? is weaker than how can I fix this?), more emotionally expressive
vocabulary (you look nice vs. you look stunning), and metaphors as ways to increase the quality of your life. By paying attention to the quality of your thoughts and actions, you empower yourself to lead a more fulfilling life.
Who are you and who do you want to be?
The second part of Awaken The Giant Within delves more deeply into values, rules, and identity. In essence, he examines the idea of what makes someone who they are at the core. Here, he speaks at length about the value of considering your values, listing them, and regularly revisiting them. When you live in harmony with your values, you’ll be happier.
In addition, it’s worth examining your rules and other people’s rules around behavior. (ex. If someone loves me, they help with the household chores without being asked) Without discussing these rules, conflict can arise between individuals without each of them knowing the underlying cause.
Finally, Awaken the Giant Within covers how you can become trapped within your identity, but also break free. Saying things like ‘I’m not someone who overeats’ can create more leverage than ‘I’m trying not to overeat anymore’.
These are just handful of the ideas within the book. If you’re really looking to go deeply through a comprehensive volume of ideas for increasing your well-being this book can be a valuable asset. To get the most out of it, be sure
to follow the exercises and answer the questions – the more you engage the more you’re likely to get out of it.