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82 of 84 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
How long are you going to be dead?, August 9, 2002
In YOUR ERRONEOUS ZONES, Wayne Dyer encourages his readers to ask themselves this question: "How long am I going to be dead?" Dyer suggests that taking such an "eternal perspective" will aid one in gaining a more "take charge" stance in life. Life is a risk, and we are all going to die anyway, so why not do what we want with our lives? This has been one of the most helpful self-help books I have ever found. In fact, I think it may be THE best self-help book I've ever read. This is one of the "classics," and many others have taken its lead. I believe this is Wayne Dyer's best work. The other not-so-pretty reality of life that Dyer suggests we face is that things are not fair, and they never will be. In chapter 8, "The Justice Trap," the author writes bluntly about the fact that injustice is committed every day and that if one has enough money one can get away with it. Poor people will rot in jail, while rich people get a slap on the wrist for the same crime. It is not an "erroneous zone" (self-defeating behavior) to notice the injustices of this world; the erroneous zone is the belief that becoming incapacitated with anger, guilt, worry, or indignation, by the injustices will change anything. Many heroic people try to change the injustices, and they are to be commended. But they often fail because they are against impossible odds. Year after year, century after century, the privileged few get away with what the rest of us do not. Is it fair? No! Should we convince ourselves that it is okay? No! Should we fool ourselves into believing incapacitating ourselves with worry and anger is going to change anything? No, again. If you can do something to end an injustice, then do it. If you can't, don't feel guilty. I also enjoyed Dyer's candor on the hypocrisy of educational institutions, and found it surprising considering that he himself is a professor. He notes that one of the greatest "erroneous zones" is the need for approval, and then he points out that schools are one of the main culprits in instilling the need for approval in people. From the moment you walk into a school, he says, you are told where to sit, how to talk, what to write, how to think, control, control, control, and then you are graded according to your willingness to hand your mind over to the authority figures. Students with high self-esteem, who are full of self-love, and who are not susceptible to guilt and worry, are systematically labeled "trouble makers" by the school faculty. The inference is clear: ridding oneself of guilt and erroneous zones often means going against the very fabric of this society. This is a radical book! And it's been a good friend for years. I had the honor of meeting Mr. Dyer a few years back at a book signing, and he seems to live what he preaches.
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53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wayne Dyer Before He Got On The New Age Bandwagon, July 18, 2004
This book is one of the best books, perhaps even the best book I've ever read in terms of gaining control over one's life. It is truly empowering in the best sense of the idea. It comes down to the fact that you are a "choice making individual". No matter what the situation is that comes up you can still choose how to react to it. To illustrate... I used to believe that I had certain tendencies (like "worrying" about all the "what ifs" for example) that were somehow out of my control. The idea of buying into the idea that some things were just "family traits" that I was helplessly born into, that "we come from a family of neurotic people who worry". I have a particular favorite story which is on the audio tape version of the book (I can't remember if it's in the printed version of the book.... the audio seems pretty much like he's extemporizing on the principles outlined in the book). He tells of how he was in a restaurant and the manager/owner of the restaurant is getting very upset and emotional at an employee. Dr. Dyer says to the guy something like "Look at yourself, you're going to give your self a heart attack by the time your fifty" to which the gentleman replies "I am fifty two and I had a heart attack two years ago" to which Dr. Dyer says something like "Then why do you do this to yourself ? " to which the fellow says "What do you want from me.... I'm Italian !" ..... as if that was an explanation for why he was getting himself all worked up. Wayne really helps one realize that they don't have to "buy into" feeling like they are helpless victims of their cultural background, family dynamics and, Genetic tendencies etc. While these may all seem to be the same thing there are in fact subtle differences between them.
I have recommended this book and it's audio version for countless people who have felt "out of control" of their emotions. The ideas in this book really work if you are willing to finally let go of the mental crap in your life that is holding you back from being happier and healthier in every way. This is not to put on Rose Colored glasses, but to be able to "catch yourself" before you go into reacting the way you "always do" and really asking yourself if it is necessary. Of course there are things in life where "worry" (for example if a loved one is ill) might be an unavoidable and compassionate emotion. But I'm talking about the sort of "worry" that is about things that "might happen". How many people spin endless tales of woe that will never come to pass. Regarding Waynes other work, much of it has gone the way of the worst sort of New Age thought. While I personally think that there is much New Age thinking that can be beneficial (especially in terms of having people more accepting of others rather than being narrow minded and bigotted), often it seems to be used to avoid having compassion (as in the idea that "Everything is perfect" so why help starving people). This being said, "Erroneous Zones" is still one of those books I will always recommend and re-read (or listen to) when I find myself slipping into old mental habit patterns. Another book along these lines that I also highly recommend is "Full Catastrophe Living" by Jon Kabot Zinn.
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45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great book that is still very useful after all these years...., October 8, 2006
YOUR ERRONEOUS ZONES is deservedly a bestseller. It takes the fundamental insights of cognitive therapy and makes them accessible to a large and diverse audience. The chapters of this book each pertain to important domains of human experience such as approval seeking, guilt and worry and self esteem. However, this book also goes beyond cognitive therapy concepts and adds the inspirational insights of humanistic psychology. The book concludes with a chapter on what it looks like to overcome your erroneous zones (maladaptive beliefs) and achieve self-actualization.
When I first encountered this book, I read it at least a half dozen times. There is a wealth of excellent practical advice that can be immediately applied to whatever your life situation happens to be. Dr. Dyer also has a gift for putting his ideas across in a simple, straightforward manner without a lot of jargon.
At least one writer pointed out that this book was written prior to Wayne Dyer's New Age phase. This is true and it does have a different tone from some of his later books. It is more likely to appeal to a wider audience than some of his later material which does have a stronger New Age flavor. PULLING YOUR OWN STRINGS, also from this earlier period is another excellent book and builds on the concepts developed in this one.
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