The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery by Brianna Wiest

The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery Reviews

• 
  Holly

  Oh, I REALLY wanted to love this. I instantly ordered it after hearing a reviewer on booktok say “this book would have changed my life if I read it in my 20s”. Ok sign me up.... but no. Unfortunately it seemed very similar to the issues I have with poetry and Rupi Kaur’s work, it seemed to be written purely to be posted or quoted on Instagram. That’s what this book was, even down to the formatting (and lack of proper paragraphs, repetitive and generic quotations printed with the intention of relating to a wide array of people on the internet. It didn’t seem genuine unfortunately. I feel like this book had a lot of words but didn’t really actually say anything. Sorry booktok, you let me down!!
• 
  Isabella Roland

  Maybe I’m missing something, but this book feels like a recycled mesh of Instagram quotes with a slight expansion on the meaning behind each one. I have read countless self help books and this one struck me as a regurgitation of many of them. The pages are small to begin with and there’s large spaces in between paragraphs and subheadings. Normally to me this means the author did not have enough content to fill a book and wanted to fluff it up a bit. I will not deny that there were some good concepts in the book as far as why do we self-sabotage, but the book really failed to deliver on an action plan that goes beyond just “thinking differently.” I saw a lot of hype for this book on TikTok which sort of leads me to believe that the author/PR team are better at marketing than actual writing. If you’ve never read a self help book before in your life this could be for you. Otherwise, stick to authors with more credentials.
• 
  Lundie

  Right words at the right time
  
  When I read self help type books, I'll highlight if I come across something that rings true. I'll use a second stronger color if it provides insight or a new path I hadn't seen/thought of before, or that I had forgotten.
  
  I think I may have marked more of this book than not. Due to the nature of books on self, it's hard to say whether I would recommend this book to you. If you are looking for someone else to provide answers, this isn't the book. This is more like a quiet voice in your ear helping to give you new places to look inside for those answers.
  
  You can find the author's work on Medium if you want a good sampling of her voice/style. It's what led me here. Hope this helps.
• 
  Amy Riordan

  I cannot tell you how much this book has allowed me to see not only how much I self sabotage, but also to feel calm & completely inspired to move forward toward greater things. This is the perfect book for 2020, as we question our lives & all that we stand for. I’m ready to leave my legacy. Thank you Brianna!
• 
  Kalyn Nicholson

  This book is great if you wish to understand why we set out determined for certain ideas, ambitions or dreams but catch ourselves acting out of accordance with them. It's a digestible book that gets straight to the point and does not beat around the bush in order to cushion the blow. It definitely invites the reader to take multiple moments of deep self-awareness and ownership. I was really happy to find it didn't veer into the lane of unhealthy positivity and instead encouraged accepting the hard work it takes to truly face what our deepest desires and inner narratives align with.
  
  Read this with a book club. It created a lot of great topics of discussion, prompts to take away for solo-journalling and everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy.
• 
  Wilco Mellema

  This is not a review of what is written in here, as well as how it worked out on me.
  
  To me it came across as a slapped together collection of highly superficial statements taken from motivational speakers. Very real problems that people encounter lik anxiety, depression, lack of self esteem are 'resolved' in about one paragraph each. I tried it since I too wanted to step out of my comfort zone and use it for my personal development. However, it left me disappointed. Not my cup of tea.
• 
  Élisabeth Nolan

  I have a bachelor degree in psychology and i work with people living with eating disorders. I figured I'd pick up this book to help with certain patterns and behaviours I've noticed through my professional experiences. I was highly disappointed. It didn't help that I saw this book glorified on TikTok because it set my expectations way too high.
  
  From what I've gathered online, Wiest is a writer and a poet. She seems to have no education or training on psychology or therapy (I couldn't find anything on that). I found that her facts were a little shaky and looking through her references, I could see why. There's 24 references in total for her whole book and very few are scientific articles. Some of it is from psycho-pop online articles and there's even one reference from a LinkedIn post. I believe she based most of her observations on experience, this is not to be diminished, but the book lacked scientific support.
  
  Overall, the tools and strategies she gave were fine. I actually have a few pages with post-its on them. There's some parts of the book that felt empty as if the words were to fill the chapter instead of giving substance. The first two parts were the most helpful to understand self-sabotage and learn about unhealthy patterns of behaviours. The rest was a little repetitive and more inspirational than resourceful.
  
  I won't recommend this book to people who go through self-sabotage tendencies. I believe that good old therapy works best and that there exists other self-help books that are way more scientifically approved. I recommend The Happiness Trap by Dr. Harris to change your perspective on life instead of this one.
  
  Also, there's mentions encouraging diet culture when it is in no way relating to the subject. Eating fast food is not "self-sabotage". It can be part of a balanced diet when you work on your perspective over food and then adjust your behaviours to fulfill your needs (biological and emotional).
• 
  N.F. Afrina

  Do you ever finish reading a book and think "Where were you all my life?"
  
  That's how I felt.
  
  rating: ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑/5
  genre: non-fiction, self-help
  
  𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲. 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗼.
  
  This is one of the best books I've read in 2021 and that's a huge statement considering how I've been reading like a lunatic this year.
  
  If you are so tired of being too hard on yourself but don't know why and how to stop, this book is for you. If you just feel too much and can't seem to let go of the things hurting you, it's for you.
  
  Long story short, if you're a breathing human being living during these hard times, pick!!! up!!!! this!!! book!!!!
  
  I don't always tell people what to do but I'll do it this time.
  
  I love the style of writing and how the writer validates every single feeling and thought and starts from there instead of offering you unrelated positive suggestions. I've never felt this comforted in a while. I thought, perhaps I wasn't crazy after all.
  
  And this is not the kind of book that only knows how to point what is wrong and leave you dumbfounded. There are action points and guidance on what to do next in every chapter and honestly it's so helpful.
  
  I love this book so much I made a summary document on Notion so even if you don't read it, just go through my notes. Or you can use it as your notes after reading the books.
  
  I'll put the link in my bio.
  
  some extra quotes I loved:
  • Get angry, determined, and allow yourself to develop tunnel vision with one thing and one thing only at the end: that you will not go on as you are
  
  • Mental strength Is not just hoping that nothing ever goes wrong. It is believing that we have the capacity to handle it if it does.
  
  • Happiness is not something you can chase. It is something you have to allow.
• 
  Hanan Baba

  This book is the closest thing to going to therapy without actually going. A book to read multiple times in order to really make use of the learnings. Probably one I will have to read twice a year and study in depth in order to do the internal work each time to make real progress.
  
  Such an easy read, read it in 4 days.
• 
  Vera V.

  This book felt like therapy
• 
  simona.citeste

  O carte care vorbește despre vulnerabilități, despre comportamentele prin care ne autosabotăm, despre situații des întâlnite în viața de zi cu zi, despre gândurile care ne pun bețe în roate, despre greșeli și abordările potrivite.
  De citit cu mintea deschisă și pregătită să accepte adevăruri pe care le băgăm sub preș.
• 
  Julienne Reads

  That felt like therapy. 😊
  
  “It is very hard to show up as the person you want to be when you are surrounded by an environment that makes you feel like a person you aren’t.”
  
  To be honest, the first few pages were hard to comprehend but it gets easier chapter by chapter. I was honestly scared that this would also feel a little redundant like '101 Essays that will change the way you think' but it actually delivered. It did what it promised. It told the why, when and hows of self-sabotage.
  
  I'm actually surprised how this book made me know myself better. It introduced ideas that I never thought about. It changed my mindset.
  
  sharing my favorite lesson from this book:
  emotions are temporary, behavior is permanent.
  
  read this book alone then discuss it with others :)
  
  tiktok video:
  
  https://www.tiktok.com/@lovejulienne/...
• 
  Citibila

  O carte cu limbaj accesibil despre autosabotare și despre cine vrei sa devii
  
  “Autosabotarea este atunci când ai doua dorințe contradictorii. Una este conștientă, cealaltă inconstienta. Știi ca vrei sa mergi mai departe in viața, totuși stai pe loc, blocat dintr-un motiv anume.”
  
  Câteva semne care iti dau de înțeles ca probabil te autosabotezi:
  
  👉🏻 Te împotrivești lucrului la un proiect nou, oricare ar fi natura lui.
  
  👉🏻Refuzi sa ieși din zona de confort. “Suntem construiți sa ne simțim cât mai confortabil, și tot ce se afla in afara spațiului de confort pare deosebit de amenințător sau infricosator pana devine familiar.”
  
  👉🏻 Perfecționismul- se întâmpla pentru ca iti este frica de eșec, te simți vulnerabil sau crezi ca nu ești atat de bun pe cât iti dorești sa creadă altii ca suntem.
  
  Și lista de idei poate continua.
  
  👌🏼Mi-a plăcut cartea pentru limbajul ei accesibil, pentru modul in care autoarea a explicat, pe întelesul tuturor, cum ne punem piedici in procesul de dezvoltare, dar mai ales cum putem sa lucram constient la a elimina situațiile de autosabotare.
  
  “Tu ești muntele” este o carte pentru cine se afla intr-o perioada mai grea, de blocaj, care nu este familiara cu terapia sau cu modul in care funcționăm. Mi s-a părut o carte potrivită dacă vrei sa începi sa te cunosti puțin mai bine și sa înțelegi de ce reacționezi in anumite feluri in unele situații.
• 
  Helen Mary Labao

  A perfect January read, the start of the year where you identify the weeds of your life so you can take off and eventually be ready for harvest. The book started out a bit dry for me but it started to resonate with me midway until the end. The fascinating almost surgical level by which the author digs into how we sabotage ourselves is incredibly educational and insightful. Lots to unpack for me from realizations coming from this book.
• 
  Lauren (readwithloz)

  If you only read one book in 2023, please pick this one.
  
  Brianna West steps inside your brain and truly just gets it. From dealing with loss, mental illness, self doubt and so much more, the resulting self sabotage and what you can do to become your true, most authentic self.
  
  Treat your future self and buy a copy
  here. The audiobook is beautifully narrated too as is available on
  Scribd and
  Audible.
• 
  Aida-Bianca Groza

  Nu că m-aș pricepe eu prea bine la astfel de cărți, dar aș fi vrut mai multe exemple, că așa funcționez și asimilez eu.🤣
  
  În schimb, mi-a plăcut că mi-a confirmat anumite lucruri, mi-a prezentat lucrurile dintr-o altă perspectivă față de cea la care mă gândeam eu. Cred doar că trebuie să o citești la momentul potrivit ca să fie relatable.🧐
• 
  Nour Emad

  Never has a book helped me understand myself like this one did and I will be forever grateful I got the chance to read it. It’s a book I think everyone should read to understand the intricacies of themselves (why they think, feel, and act like they do), how to notice their patterns, and how to learn from them. It’s a book that opened a well of untapped emotions in me and pushed me to start the journey of self-mastery I so desperately wanted to do but never knew what was holding me back and now because of Brianna Wiest I do and I am so thankful for her.
• 
  Kiki

  To have a mountain in front of you does not mean you are fundamentally broken in some way. Everything in nature is imperfect, and it is because of that imperfec- tion that growth is possible. If everything existed in uniformity, the gravity that created the stars and planets and everything that we know would not exist. Without breaks, faults, and gaps, nothing could grow and nothing would become.
  
  This is one of those books I never knew I needed to read. It took me a long time to finish it, mainly because it made me feel so aware on how much I sabotage myself (I actually felt really attacked with this one), and I wanted to read it with my whole attention. The Mountain is You is written in a most informative and sophisticated way that will make you learn about life and perspectives that no one would tell you. There is something in this book that I want to keep reading over and over to really sink it all in.
  
  Reading it was an eye-opener and one of the best foods for the soul.
• 
  Rasy

  I really, really want to love this book because it seems to have a cult following on BookTok and has a promising premise. But it’s ridiculously repetitive and doesn’t bring up any new, groundbreaking ideas I have not heard of before. Nor does it reinforce current ways to escape self-sabotage and help me see them in a new light.
  
  It just feels like someone has taken some points from various Ted Talk vids and put them all together into a book. And then I checked: the author is a poet and writer — which make sense, as the sentences read like one of those healing contemporary poems (a reviewer said this is like Rupi Kaur of Self-Help and.. I have to agree).
• 
  Ana Maria

  This book just didn't work for me. I almost gave up reading it. I think it is structured more like essays and it is missing some connection between chapters.
  I liked the beginning and the "Mountain" metaphor, but was waiting for other parts to be connected with this.
• 
  Bhakti

  If you are so tired of being too hard on yourself..
  If you can't seems to let go of the things that hurting you..
  If you want to change the way you are but don't know how to do...
  Then..
  
  This is the book for you.
  
  Totally loved this book.
• 
  Ahmed Faiq

  "Albert Camus once said:“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer."
  That sums up the entirety if what inner peace really is: the understanding what no matter what is happening around you, there is palace of total knowing and calmness within you. Not only are you capable of returning to that place when you need to, but it's possible to live your entire life from there."
  
  It was again one of those books that grabbed me by the title (The mountain is you) and the all black book cover, I didn't hesitate to pick it, and bought it immediately and was not surprised when I saw the high rating on Goodreads, but the age of the writer is the most surprising, being able to write like that before even reaching 30 years is truly spectacular.
  
  It is a relatively small book, has a beautiful easy ongoing language, in spite of it dealing with some complex human mind and psychology hacks -if you could say- still it was an easy read, and enjoyable almost all through the pages.
  
  A lot of books in this field of self help, especially when spirituality is utilized and the ideas of living in the Now have passed through me in reading other similar books, but here there was something different, there was something like a deep deep dissection of the human mind, finding the deepest triggers of feelings and the whole turmoil occurring inside us, and the great capability of the writer to be able to describe those thoughts and name them, and helping us after naming them to be able to recognize how they affect our general condition, and then reacting to them and changing our perspective of life.
  
  You will come through chapters like (There is no such thing as self-sabotage), (Building emotional intelligence) and(Building a new future), there will be some parts that are better, some parts that sound to make everyone perfect from inside, everyone has the ultimate wisdom inside them, these in some parts make you question and contemplate. But overall it is still a great book.
  
  "One of the most essential tenets of modern wisdom is the idea that deep down, you know the truth about everything in your life and, by extension, your future. The idea is that you are an oracle unto yourself, and your feelings are apertures into not only whats;s happening now, but what's going to happen soon."
• 
  the refuge of books

  Right words at the right time
  “You are not supposed to know everything. You’re not supposed to be good at everything. This is why you have people whom you can hire or learn from. Cut yourself some slack, and focus on what you are proficient in. Outsource everything else.”
  
  “Focusing on what happened disproportionately to what’s happening now, or what you want to happen in the future, is what keeps you completely stuck. If you feel as though you truly failed yourself in some profound way, it becomes even more crucial that you move on and create the experience you desire now.”
  
  “Your life is not over. You did not fail indefinitely, but you will if you never let go and try again.”
  
  “Happiness is not something you can chase. It is something you have to allow. This likely will come as a surprise to many people, as the world is so adamant about everything from positive psychology to motivational Pinterest boards. But happiness is not something you can coach yourself into.”
  
• 
  Amanda

  In the first half of the book there was a lot that resonated with me and there were many insightful quotes that I enjoyed. Towards the middle and end of the book there were topics I couldn’t relate or connect with and it started to get a bit repetitive.
• 
  Aleksandra (drawingandreading)

  I rarely pick up non-fiction books, and even less so those who claim to hold some wisdom on how I can better tackle my self. But I am very grateful about reading The Mountain is You by Brianna Wiest.
  
  While I don‘t believe I can sit down and write a review about this book - simply because I lack the expertise and knowledge of these type of books to properly articulate what it offers or might lack of - I can definitely tell you this: it‘s a book you should pick up when you need to organize your own thoughts, when you might question a certain aspect of your life, when you need guidance without asking for it, and when you want to reflect on your own actions.
  
  Brianna Wiest has an incredible soothing writing style that feels more like a friend giving you a good advice than a book telling you to restructure parts of your life. You can easily fly through these pages, while it helps you reflect on your own struggles, conflicts and discomfort areas.
  
  The Mountain is You focuses on self-sabotage and how one can overcome it, but it doesn‘t offer a formula that you can follow step by step. It offers guidance to find where you sabotage yourself, what the actual root of that is, and how you can overcome it. It‘s not a manual, it‘s a companion during a journey. No matter if you find yourself in the middle of it, mean to start it, or have to go a few steps back because you haven‘t reached the end yet. It‘s also a book you can get back to whenever you need guidance. Because today, you might self-sabotage you at work, but tomorrow you might do it in a relationship or friendship.
  
  I honestly appreciate the way, Brianna Wiest structures this book and breaks down the many layers that self-sabotage includes. This way, you can actually visualize where you‘re struggling, and can work on overcoming it without feeling overwhelmed by the task itself.
  
  
• 
  Cătălina Toader

  Mi-am dorit cartea de când a apărut și am văzut că se centrează pe subiectul autosabotajului.
  
  E bună de ținut pe noptieră și răsfoit în anumite momente, mai ales atunci când simți că lucrurile scapă puțin de sub control.
  
  Informațiile prezentate sunt mai mult o aducere aminte și o sintetizare a motivelor pentru care, uneori, lucrurile pe care le facem și le gândim nu sunt în interesul nostru și ne trag în jos.
  
  Am învățat câte ceva din carte și am urmărit-o cu plăcere, chiar dacă nu mi-a adus ceva nou neapărat.
  
  O recomand dacă vreți o abordare rapidă și ușoară către înțelegerea propriilor mecanisme dăunătoare ☺️
• 
  Ritika

  It focuses a lot on self-acknowledgment- of our problems, our emotions, our choices, and most importantly our reactions. The more self-aware one becomes, the more clearer the path becomes. Yes, it takes a lot of time and effort, but it's all worth it. And that's all that matters, in the end.
• 
  Helen Derbyshire

  Some nice reminders, but this felt like a surface level observation of many of the topics I’ve read about before. It was a very short read and most definitely could have been longer!
  
  It did at times feel repetitive too. Some good lessons, but I think there are better books out there on this topic!
  
  I think this could be a great book if you’re a beginner to self development, but if you’ve been reading around this topic for some time already, you may not get what you need from this book specifically.
  
  I love B.West nonetheless!
• 
  Daphné Moreau

  This is the best self help book I've read in a long long time. Incredibly well-written and powerful. Absolutely LOVED it. thank you Brianna !