The Art of Taking It Easy: How to Cope with Bears, Traffic, and the Rest of Life's Stressors

Mr. King has succinctly and powerfully said: “If you don’t like the way you feel, change your thoughts.” The brain is a powerful and awesome mechanism, and we can train our thoughts, and improve our brains (and emotions) by changing our negative thoughts – simply by recognizing the trap we’ve set for ourselves and choosing a positive challenge to the negativity. I enjoyed all of Brian’s discussion on the brain’s neuroplasticity – re-wiring new paths to give new health and life to our brains. What a great concept; and such a relief! The author provides numerous of examples of how hard it can be to change ingrained habits; while at the same time he champions us to be determined. Along with practice – something we have to do in our everyday life anyway— being open to trying new habits helps to build change, and along with it, resilience. Thanks to Brian King for the chuckles throughout the book. As a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, I had the benefit of sitting in on one of the author’s 8-hour conferences. I’ve attended at least one hundred conferences for my continuing education over the decades, and Brian’s ranked on top. Why? Because he made me laugh. He entertained me. I highly recommend his book and give it five stars.

I had never heard of this book, but saw it on Libby as an Overdrive universal read, so I thought "what the neck it's free" . I usually steer clear of comedians' books because it always seems like they try too hard to get their humor across and it doesn't work as well in writing as it does in their act.But this book was different. I was truly laughing right away, AND I was picking up some useful information to help me reverse my downward spiral of stress and burnout. Sure, some of the stuff he talks about is stuff we've heard before, but he presents it in an easily consumable format. I liked the book so much I'm going to return the library digital copy and BUY a good for myself to keep for reference.

This is the best book I’ve read to date about coping with stress (and as a former social worker I’ve read a lot of books on stress)! Brian delves into rewiring the brain to approach potentially difficult situations through the use of positivity. This isn’t your typical dry medical approach to dealing with stress as it is presented with humor and anecdotes. If you read any book on coping with stress, make it this one.

The science aspect of the book was very interesting and a few times I chuckled. For me, the writer comes off as narcissistic and privileged. The attitude of the writer made it difficult to finish the book when I reached to half way mark l. But there were also very redeeming qualities in the latter half of the book. I wouldn’t recommend the book to a friend, but I also wouldn’t discourage.

A humorous and lighthearted take on why we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously. This is a good reminder on why and how to combat common life stressors.

As a stress case who is always on the move, this book is both necessary and challenging- but the real challenge was finding the time/granting myself permission to read the book in the first place. Once I did it made a huge impact, a combination of serious professional insight and personal stories helped me look at some of my negative patterns and started to help me unravel the tightly wound ball of excuses I use to run myself ragged. The stories are compelling, the humor keeps you entertained and the stress melts off you while reading it, not only encouraging you to keep reading but also reinforcing the need to step back and chill, at Dr. Brian might say.Reads like fiction, works like a charm, and a great break from your daily grind.

We all find humor helps us process the little, and big traumas we encounter once we pry ourselves loose of our mother's insides and start this thing called life. If being able to laugh at one's own pain is proof of maturity, Dr. Brian King is clearly as old as he looks.In a style that reminds me of all the best of Erma Bombeck, Dr. King peels back how we can process our pain using humor when it is, and honestly is not appropriate.A funny thing happened on the way to my Dad's funeral after his suicide. Without Dr. King's work, I couldn't share the humor of that story without reliving the pain of that experience. A must-read for anyone who has ever felt anything about anyone. You won't hate this book.

I enjoyed this book because I feel the author gave some helpful advice. I am curious to learn more about sleep apnea.