Bytheway By The Way

With expectations & inquisitive mind,I started my day.It was set to be Bon Iver day.And he was into 
"...and at once I knew I was not magnificent
High above the highway aisle
(Jagged vacance, thick with ice)
I could see for miles, miles, miles"

I started pondering,at once he was not magnificent.And I again thought,When was the last time at least I was considered to be magnificent?There I have had the very first thought of skimming the audio books.Because it sounded totally like me.Like "How to be totally Miserable".


Ha,I am sure this has already proved me a far-fetched-entity.Well go on then.I have been listening to this book all over by the way while going and coming back from office written by Bytheway.There how did I sound?! His Name is John Glenn Bytheway. 

This book is "reverse psychology" at its best.It's about how to be happy,not in that Shiv Khera way but in an entertaining way.I think sometimes it helps also recognise the things we do that take us in the opposite direction.You know what does the Oxymoron do?It actually shows us how two opposite thing together get along  & which one to focus on.Likewise,here by pointing out the things that will make us miserable, we might find ourselves going "oops,I guess I do that sometimes...".It can help sometimes to recognise our bad habits before we try to develop the good ones.

John Bytheway aims to be as entertaining as possible in writing this book,and it seems to be aimed mainly at teenagers.He uses word play and alliteration quite a lot.The book is broken up into short segments on each point of "advice".The headings of such segments include: 

Think about your problems

Relive bad memories

Hold onto grudges

Don't set goals

Be a breath of stale air

Believe that things will never change

Be easily offended

(the list goes on...)

In each segment he gives the advice on how to be miserable, but he also warns against and points out the opposite things, which will actually make us happy!So being well informed,we are able to make our choice:Do I want to be miserable, or happy?

Here's an example of the writing style:

To be miserable, don't set goals.  If you're trying to be miserable, it's important that you don't have any goals.  No school goals, personal goals, seminary goals, or family goals.  With nothing to shoot for, your life is shot.  Your only objective each day should be inhale and exhale for sixteen hours before you go to bed again.  Don't read anything informative, don't listen to anything useful, don't do anything productive.  If you start achieving goals, you might start to feel a sense of excitement, and then you might want to set another goal!  And then your miserable mornings are through.  To maintain your misery, the idea of crossing off your goals should never cross your mind.

In the audio book,his tone of jest clearly highlights the fact that he really means the opposite, and it is a light-hearted way of reminding ourselves that there are many  things we can do to choose to be happy.

PS: Now that I listened to Holocene & How to be totally Miserable both,I pretty much summed up my Miser-ability was sort of holocene.Yikes,I am surely So far-fetched.