Mindgym, and The Causes of Structural Unemployment

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/jcaf.22032
• Published date: 01 March 2015
• Author: Stephen R. Goldberg,David M. Cannon
• Date: 01 March 2015

41

© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).

DOI 10.1002/jcaf.22032

look at ourselves to analyze

why we didn’t get a promo-

tion or raise, or why we seem

to have issues with coworkers

or others, or why we procras-

tinate. Sebastian and Black’s

Mindgym is about recognizing

and addressing the behaviors

and perceptions that prevent

individuals from achieving their

desired performance and goals.

The authors’ basic premise is

that individuals make choices

as to how they think, whether

they improve, how smart they

act, and the habits they pos-

sess, and that individuals can

train their brains to make better

choices. While this topic may

be fodder for the self-help aisle

of the local bookstore, this

book is based on solid scientific

research. Sebastian and Black

matter-of-factly and nonjudg-

mentally provide the reader

with the tools to understand

how thinking process, percep-

tions, behaviors, and personal-

ity traits lead to positive and

negative outcomes. Based on

their premise, the authors pro-

vide strategies to change one’s

psychological characteristics

to attain a higher performance

level or reach a goal.

David M. Cannon and Stephen R. Goldberg

M indgym, and The Causes

of Structural Unemployment

BOOKS REVIEWED

Bailey, Sebastian, and Octavius

Black, 2014, Mindgym: Achiev-

ing More by Thinking Differ-

ently (New York: HarperOne)

Janoski, Thomas, David Luke,

and Christopher Oliver, 2014,

The Causes of Structural

Unemployment: Four Factors

That Keep People From the Jobs

They Deserve (Malden, MA:

Polity Press)

The first book reviewed

addresses how individuals can

recognize and change how their

thinking patterns and mental

habits affect performance and

achievement of goals. The second

book investigates the causes and

possible solutions to structural

unemployment with the authors

approaching the issue from a

broad sociological rather than a

narrow economic perspective.

MINDGYM: ACHIEVING MORE

BY THINKING DIFFERENTLY

Periodic introspection is

a virtue and a key to personal

development and improvement.

We might take an introspective

Readers should note that

Mindgym focuses on the behav-

iors, thinking patterns, and

traits of individuals rather than

organizations. The authors’ dis-

cussion and examples imply that

individual behavior, thinking

patterns, and the like cut across

personal, social, and business

contexts. For instance, examples

used to illustrate the impact of

psychological characteristics in

relationships are just as likely to

use spousal and social relation-

ships as they are customer, sup-

plier, coworker, and manager–

subordinate relationships.

Readers will find that

Mindgym breaks down think-

ing processes and behaviors

in ways that are quite useful.

For example, a person might

be thinking with an “internal

focus” where the person is aware

of thinking about something, or

with an “external focus,” which

is described as “an awareness

of things going outside of your

head.” Either of the two foci

can be thought of as “helpful

when it increases the likelihood

of success . . . or harmful when

it keeps you from achieving your

goals or performance.” Accord-

ing to the authors, individuals