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Secrets of the Superoptimist
Book by W. R. Morton, Nathaniel Whitten
- GenresSelf Help
166 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 14, 2021
The best joke in the book is the cover. It's what convinced me to buy it when I saw it at a goodwill.
There are funny moments after the cover e.g. Secret#109.1 "Depression Externalization Act" where the SuperOptimist is taught to spend time in a confined space with someone you don't like and "you'll see your depression and self-loathing has been transferred to deep outward loathing of the other person...and your unhealthy desire to kill yourself has been replaced by a reasonable urge to kill them." But the problems appear when you fill in the details: what I called someone you don't like they call someone who "has poor hygiene and a low IQ"; in the ellipses goes the parenthetical "(coworker/spouse)."
Secrets of the SuperOptimist is something of a send-up of New Thought/New Age/The Secret-style thinking (i.e. 'thoughts are the only thing in the way of success'). It's a very easy target which a lot of liberal satirists parodied or mocked (Stephen Colbert & John Stewart being the most obvious). In this case Morton & Whitten aren't trying to parody pundits, but self-help literature.
And this is the first problem: it's inconsistent. Who are the SuperOptimists? People who believe in a theology of bootstraps? Sort of. People who rely on self-help books that refuse to give them meaningful advice? Sort of. I've always felt great parody paints a clear picture of the speaker's position on an issue. When George Carlin mocked self-help books, it was clear he hated the pretense of the genre. That's just not present. This book is more pastiche vying to be parody, then parody itself.
The second problem: like Stewart and Colbert mentioned above, its aged poorly. Jokes about wanting to kill your wife and disliking people with low IQ should have died long ago. They look a lot like John Stewart's explicit bigotry when trying to mock Dennis Kucinich's politics. And this is a fundamental problem with liberal satire - they stand with borrowed spines. Since they have no fundamental beliefs (only political "common sense"), they'll never age well after their time is up. Even at their least harmful it'll be liked no one laughed at all.
The saving grace here for Secrets of the SuperOptimist is that it relies more on absurdism (sometimes in the vein "lol so random") so it's generally fine. Cute, you might say. In some ways it reminds me of this Emo Phillips' show from 1983: cringe, unfunny, chuckle-worthy, and with some small genius in it. If you watch that show, watch the trombone.
If you want contemporary takes on the Self-Help genre (neither of which are compelling to me but maybe you'd like), check out Sheila Heti's Motherhood and Mohsin Hamid's How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia.
There are funny moments after the cover e.g. Secret#109.1 "Depression Externalization Act" where the SuperOptimist is taught to spend time in a confined space with someone you don't like and "you'll see your depression and self-loathing has been transferred to deep outward loathing of the other person...and your unhealthy desire to kill yourself has been replaced by a reasonable urge to kill them." But the problems appear when you fill in the details: what I called someone you don't like they call someone who "has poor hygiene and a low IQ"; in the ellipses goes the parenthetical "(coworker/spouse)."
Secrets of the SuperOptimist is something of a send-up of New Thought/New Age/The Secret-style thinking (i.e. 'thoughts are the only thing in the way of success'). It's a very easy target which a lot of liberal satirists parodied or mocked (Stephen Colbert & John Stewart being the most obvious). In this case Morton & Whitten aren't trying to parody pundits, but self-help literature.
And this is the first problem: it's inconsistent. Who are the SuperOptimists? People who believe in a theology of bootstraps? Sort of. People who rely on self-help books that refuse to give them meaningful advice? Sort of. I've always felt great parody paints a clear picture of the speaker's position on an issue. When George Carlin mocked self-help books, it was clear he hated the pretense of the genre. That's just not present. This book is more pastiche vying to be parody, then parody itself.
The second problem: like Stewart and Colbert mentioned above, its aged poorly. Jokes about wanting to kill your wife and disliking people with low IQ should have died long ago. They look a lot like John Stewart's explicit bigotry when trying to mock Dennis Kucinich's politics. And this is a fundamental problem with liberal satire - they stand with borrowed spines. Since they have no fundamental beliefs (only political "common sense"), they'll never age well after their time is up. Even at their least harmful it'll be liked no one laughed at all.
The saving grace here for Secrets of the SuperOptimist is that it relies more on absurdism (sometimes in the vein "lol so random") so it's generally fine. Cute, you might say. In some ways it reminds me of this Emo Phillips' show from 1983: cringe, unfunny, chuckle-worthy, and with some small genius in it. If you watch that show, watch the trombone.
If you want contemporary takes on the Self-Help genre (neither of which are compelling to me but maybe you'd like), check out Sheila Heti's Motherhood and Mohsin Hamid's How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia.
March 22, 2014
Secret #8.6: “Go for the real butter.” If nothing else, I honor and appreciate this snippet of advice found in the positivity manual Secrets of the SuperOptimist. Butter-ness is next to godliness, after all. Butter aside, authors W.R. Morton and Nathaniel Whitten, in over one hundred quirky “wisdom transmissions,” advise their readers how to achieve a state of theoretical and situational “SuperOptimism” in their book Secrets of the SuperOptomist. Having written a self-help book that criticizes self-help whilst offering advice, these authors openly embrace the various contradictions within their text and reiterate that they are merely witnesses to these divine truths.
I was drawn in by the stark opposition of the title against the book’s cover: a free falling, ambiguous human engulfed in a ball of flames. This was going to be wry and dark! Alas, you can’t judge a book by the juxtaposition of its cover. While I enjoyed the “secrets” and found a few very positive and enlightening tips to ponder, I was hoping for more snark and less quirk. Though some of the “secrets” were wittily written and original, many missed what I believe was the authors’ satirical target. They list their numbered secrets out of chronological order, which felt like a contrived attempt to be offbeat. They use an eclectic blend of Eastern and Western religious thought and a ton of meditation techniques to explain how to handle many situations. Again, some of the situations were quite funny and useful: Secret #97, “If someone thinks you are crazy…all the better. Nobody bothers crazy people. And sometimes they get free food.” And some not so helpful or funny: Secret #50, “Act aloof at your next job interview. Chances are, they’ll make you an offer.” Maybe it’s just me, but I would not heed this advice.
I really enjoyed the advice for writers and artists scattered throughout the work. One exercise of sorts within Secret #55 was to “turn yourself into a fictional character.” They suggest to do this to keep your life interesting, as well as an exercise in creativity. And to end on an inspirational note, I will end with Secret 11.3: “It is always more important to disseminate your own work as it stands than to allow robot monkeys in a corporate office park to micromanage, repackage, and nullify its soul. Do it yourself. Make something. You’ll be glad you did and you’ll amaze your friends.”
I was drawn in by the stark opposition of the title against the book’s cover: a free falling, ambiguous human engulfed in a ball of flames. This was going to be wry and dark! Alas, you can’t judge a book by the juxtaposition of its cover. While I enjoyed the “secrets” and found a few very positive and enlightening tips to ponder, I was hoping for more snark and less quirk. Though some of the “secrets” were wittily written and original, many missed what I believe was the authors’ satirical target. They list their numbered secrets out of chronological order, which felt like a contrived attempt to be offbeat. They use an eclectic blend of Eastern and Western religious thought and a ton of meditation techniques to explain how to handle many situations. Again, some of the situations were quite funny and useful: Secret #97, “If someone thinks you are crazy…all the better. Nobody bothers crazy people. And sometimes they get free food.” And some not so helpful or funny: Secret #50, “Act aloof at your next job interview. Chances are, they’ll make you an offer.” Maybe it’s just me, but I would not heed this advice.
I really enjoyed the advice for writers and artists scattered throughout the work. One exercise of sorts within Secret #55 was to “turn yourself into a fictional character.” They suggest to do this to keep your life interesting, as well as an exercise in creativity. And to end on an inspirational note, I will end with Secret 11.3: “It is always more important to disseminate your own work as it stands than to allow robot monkeys in a corporate office park to micromanage, repackage, and nullify its soul. Do it yourself. Make something. You’ll be glad you did and you’ll amaze your friends.”
October 19, 2011
If you heard me maniacally laughing late at night, it's because I was reading this. There really is a laugh on every page, at least through the first third of the book. But interspersed with the incongruous humor are the true secrets of superoptimism. Read it to laugh, as it spoofs THE Secret and every other book that starts with "The secrets of....." but there definitely are some ideas for reframing your thinking! Of course they are not really new, as they are ingeniously extracted from every philosophy and religion known to humans.....of course, only people who are incorrigible pessimists, mildly depressed by themselves and the world, and too lazy to change, will really appreciate the humor. I found this for two bucks at Urban Ore.
February 27, 2008
secret #10
look, up in the sky!
big, isn't it? and always changing. filled with possibilities, from sunrise to sunset. nighttime especially. why, until recently, humans used to study the sky with the fascination they now devote to a new 43-inch plasma screen hdtv ("look at that sharpness and depth, it could almost be real."). the sky was the original reality show, and the SuperOptimist knows that looking at the sky has immediate positive benefits including:
-reconnection to nature
-advance info on what to wear
-constant reminder of change
-beautiful color palette for re-use
-good eye exercise
-improves posture
-provides signs & omens
-looks like a big lava lamp
look, up in the sky!
big, isn't it? and always changing. filled with possibilities, from sunrise to sunset. nighttime especially. why, until recently, humans used to study the sky with the fascination they now devote to a new 43-inch plasma screen hdtv ("look at that sharpness and depth, it could almost be real."). the sky was the original reality show, and the SuperOptimist knows that looking at the sky has immediate positive benefits including:
-reconnection to nature
-advance info on what to wear
-constant reminder of change
-beautiful color palette for re-use
-good eye exercise
-improves posture
-provides signs & omens
-looks like a big lava lamp
February 23, 2007
my favorite book cover of all time.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews