The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery
Published May 28th 2020 by Thought Catalog Books, Kindle Edition 182 pages
This book is about self-sabotage.
Why we do it, when we do it, and how to stop doing it—for good.
Coexisting but conflicting needs create self-sabotaging behaviors. This is why we resist efforts to change, often until they feel completely futile. But by extracting crucial insight from our most damaging habits, building emotional intelligence by better understanding our brains and bodies, releasing past experiences at a cellular level, and learning to act as our highest potential future selves, we can step out of our own way and into our potential.
For centuries, the mountain has been used as a metaphor for the big challenges we face, especially ones that seem impossible to overcome. To scale our mountains, we actually have to do the deep internal work of excavating trauma, building resilience, and adjusting how we show up for the climb.
In the end, it is not the mountain we master, but ourselves.
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
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!!
Rating: really liked it
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!
Rating: really liked it
Right words at the right timeWhen 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.
Rating: really liked it
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.
Rating: really liked it
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.
Rating: really liked it
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.
Rating: really liked it
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.
Rating: really liked it
The mountain was this book.
2.5 stars because some parts really spoke to me.
But the whole thing read like there were 25 pages worth of ideas stretched out to fill 200ish pages. So much repetition, which is what made this otherwise seemingly short read (many spaces, tiny pages) be so hard to get through.
Rating: really liked it
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.
Rating: really liked it
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/...
Rating: really liked it
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.
Rating: really liked it
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.
Rating: really liked it
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.
Rating: really liked it
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.”
Rating: really liked it
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).
