A Review of Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga (#347, 22 Aug. 2025)

Last year, after she asked me to do a lawyer wellness presentation, a friend recommended a book The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga. It sat on my bookshelf for about a year. I finally decided to tackle it. And I am glad that I did.Kishimi and Koga are students of Arthur Adler, an early 20th century psychiatrist and contemporary of Sigmund Freud. Adler differed from Freud in significant respects about how to cure malaise or psychological trauma, especially childhood related trauma upon which Freud focused so heavilyIn a format of a Socratic dialogue, Courage outlines how Aldler's theories differed from Freud and more importantly, how you can utilize Adler's philosophy to live a more purpose driven and happier life.In this episode, we'll focus on central themes of the book:1. Adler's insight that all problems arise from social relations;2. His definition of happiness - contributing to others.3. His three concepts of happiness: a. Self acceptance of limitations and embracing strengths; b. Cultivating strong "horizontal relationships" with friends based upon unconditional confidence; and c. Soaking up the process in the here and now rather than only the end result. I cover these concepts in some detail, but if you really want to soak up the book's wisdom, you need to buy the book!This was a great book!