Don’t Believe Everything You Think
Book Review: Don’t Believe Everything You Think
Genre: Non-Fiction/Psychology
Page Count: 192
Read Date: January 2026
Score: 4/5 ⭐
Rank: Good Read
Summary:
Joseph Nguyen explains the difference between a thought, which our brains are made to produce, and thinking - which is a deliberate action we take when we ruminate on a thought. By controlling our tendency to think, he argues we can have a happy and peaceful life.
Review:
The author does a great job of explaining his hypothesis that thoughts are a natural part of our biology, while thinking is an action we take. He argues that thinking is what leads to negative emotions and a lack of happiness, contentment, or peace in our lives. He uses his own experience with anxiety and learning to overcome thinking through mindfulness meditation to paint a narrative picture of his arguments.
I enjoyed the read, though I personally felt like it could have been shorter, as the author rehashed the topic from multiple angles. While I appreciate giving different perspectives to the issue, I felt like the point was made early on and he didn’t truly need to keep reminding me of what it was.
His advice is solid, though I don’t agree with everything he prescribes in the book. I did find value in the mindset shift he describes, as well as his personal story. In my own life, I certainly have allowed rumination to cause me more heartache than I’d care to admit and my long time struggle with anxiety is in part due to this. Thus, by reinforcing some practices I’ve already been working through, this book did provide me some value.
There wasn’t anything earth shattering or new for me in the book. I’ve personally found more help in this book , but if you’re dealing with anxiety or rumination and have never read a book on how to overcome them, Don’t Believe Everything You Think could be a great entry point into the topic.