You're a Miracle (And a Pain in the Ass)

Why is there such a gap between what you want to do and what you actually do? The co-host of The Liturgists Podcast and Ask Science Mike explains why our desires and our real lives are so wildly different--and what you can do to close the gap. For thousands of years, scientists, philosophers, and self-help gurus have wrestled with one of the basic conundrums of human life: why we do the things we do. Or rather, why we so often don't do the things that we want to do. As a podcast host whose voice goes out to millions each month, Mike McHargue gets countless emails from people seeking to understand their own misbehaviour--why we binge Netflix when we know taking a walk outside would be better for us, or why we argue politics on Facebook when our real friends live just down the street. Everyone wants to be a good person, but few of us have any idea how to do so, twenty years into the new millennium. In You're a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass), McHargue addresses why. We like to think we're in control of our thoughts and decisions, he writes, but science has shown that a host of competing impulses, emotions, and environmental factors are at play in every action we undertake. Touching on his listeners' most pressing question topics, from relationships and ethics to stress and mental health, and sharing some of the biggest triumphs and hardships from his own life, McHargue shows readers how some of our qualities that seems most frustrating--including "negative" emotions like sadness, anger, and anxiety--are actually key to helping humans survive and thrive. In doing so, he invites the reader on a path of self-understanding, and ultimately, self-acceptance.