The Undefeated Mind: On the Science of Constructing an Indestructible Self

by Alex Lickerman

Legions of self-help authors rightly urge personal development as the key to happiness, but they typically fail to focus on its most important objective: hardiness. Though that which doesn't kill us can make us stronger, as Nietzsche tells us, few authors today offer any insight into just how to springboard from adversity to strength.

It doesn't just happen automatically; it takes practice. New scientific research suggests that resilience isn't something with which only a fortunate few of us have been born, but rather something we can all take specific action to develop. To build strength out of adversity, we need a catalyst. What we need, according to Dr. Alex Lickerman, is wisdom—wisdom that adversity has the potential to teach us.

Lickerman's underlying premise is that our ability to control what happens to us in life may be limited, but our ability to surmount the suffering life brings us is not. The Undefeated Mind distills the wisdom we need to create true resilience into nine core principles, including:

—A new definition of victory and its relevance to happiness
—The concept of the changing of poison into medicine
—A way to view prayer as a vow we make to ourselves.
—A method of setting expectations that enhances our ability to endure disappointment and minimizes the likelihood of quitting
—An approach to taking personal responsibility and moral action that enhances resilience
—A process for managing pain—both physical and emotional—that enables us to push through obstacles that might otherwise prevent us from attaining our goals
—A method of leveraging our relationships with others that helps us manifest our strongest selves

Through stories of patients who have used these principles to overcome suffering caused by unemployment, unwanted weight gain, addiction, rejection, chronic pain, retirement, illness, loss, and even death, Dr. Lickerman shows how we too can make these principles function within our own lives, enabling us to develop for ourselves the resilience we need to achieve indestructible happiness. At its core, The Undefeated Mind urges us to stop hoping for easy lives and focus instead on cultivating the inner strength we need to enjoy the difficult lives we all have.

Genres: Psychology, Self Help, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Personal Development, Buddhism, Spirituality

278 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2012

About the author

Alex Lickerman is a physician, former assistant professor of medicine, former director of primary care, and former assistant vice president for Student Health and Counseling Services at the University of Chicago. He currently leads a direct primary care private practice in Chicago called ImagineMD.

Alex has been quoted in Crain's Chicago Business, The Chicago Tribune, Men's Health, The New York Times, and TIME, and has had articles appear in Psychology Today, Crain's Chicago Business, USA Today, Slate, The Huffington Post, Counselor Magazine, and Medicine on the Midway. He's also been a guest on NPR's On Point. He's also written a television pilot called Sessions that was optioned by DreamWorks Television, as well as several movie screenplays, including an adaptation of Milton's Paradise Lost.

Reviews

[Jason , etc. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This struck me as being more of a marketing campaign for Nichiren Buddhism (NB) than anything else, given the page- saturation of NB's name and principles. NB is super. NB is the search for wisdom in adversity. NB is the one arm of Buddhism that eschews quiet meditation for chanting. NB works. NB.

The chapters approach the subject of perseverance (abstractly) by revisiting former patients' problems and using them as the canvas on which to paint a picture of resolution in the form of their overcoming and learning from adversity. These patients are presented in ways that don't elicit much in the way of pity or empathy and some of the problems initially come across as extremely superficial. Also, they seem to exist primarily as straight men/women to the author's long expositions on the hidden possibilities their problems offer to grow and learn. An example:

Author: [Long exposition on X with sidetracks to NB]
Patient: "Wow. I never thought of it like that."
Author: [Deep, DEEP soliloquy on the power of adversity to teach (with some NB for taste)]

or

Author: [Deep, DEEP soliloquy on the power of adversity to teach (with some NB for taste)]
Patient: "Huh."
Author: [Long exposition on X with sidetracks to NB]

The patients appear to be the speed bumps that keep the doctor from careening off the page and onto the floor. This pretty much sums up every chapter.

I'll leave use of the word 'Science' in the title alone, but provide this disclaimer: If you're cracking this sucker open to dig into the science behind reinforcing your 'self' with adamantium-like knowledge, gird your loins for disappointment. I agree with the thesis underlying the book, that adversity offers life's most profound opportunities to learn and gain insight, but the book's methods to illustrate this potential left a lot to be desired.

[Andre · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this title when going through the toughest time of my life (so far). I thought it might provide some good advice. As it turns out I didn't get to read it until after I was "back on my feet" so to speak. Nonetheless I found this book very helpful, not because it gave me many new strategies to try (it did a few) but because in many, many instance it provided the background, medical and philosophic, to strategies I had stumbled upon on my own. As I often find when this happens it brings into clear view the strategies and code puts I'd stumbled upon, where I went wrong, and how to reuse the in the future.

This book will also be useful for me to help my wife get through her current and ongoing issues (broken leg, drop foot, and the long rehab it entails). I won't suggest she actually read it, but will be able to offer much better advice than I would have on my own. It also showed me that some of the strategies to help her are going to come from me not her.

One more thing struck me as I was reading this book; I nominally call myself a secular humanist, but it turns out that I share many life strategies and philosophies with Buddhism. It just seems to fit my way of thinking and life experience better than say Christianity.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely interesting read. Dr. Lickerman reminds us that resilence is not an intrinsic quality, at least not entirely. We can supplement our capacity to respond to difficulty by developing more effective habits. Through his practice of Nichiren Buddhist chanting, Dr. Lickerman arrived at insights about his outlook that helped shape him into a stronger and more insightful physician and person. And while he tells us that we needn't necessarily chant a million mantras to find our center, he points out that inner strength doesn't just happen. It is brought about by taken definitive courageous steps.

By far the best aspect of the book are the fascinating studies cited as evidence of techniques for improving resilence. The mind is complex but assayable and behavioral scientists are doing some really cool things to get to the bottom of how we tick. Lickerman cites them as he walks us through case studies taken from his own practice. And while the case studies serve to simplify the concepts and make the lessons more approachable, there is also something rather self-serving about them. Each person brings his or her issue to Dr. Lickerman and inevitably he solves each problem with the wisdom of a guru. Indeed, to this reader, the interactions seem almost too good to be true. Maybe Dr. Lickerman is just this good. If so, I am left wondering where did this wisdom come from?

We are taken through a brief chronology of Lickerman's development. He starts his journey as a medical student devastated by a girlfriend's rejection. Through Nichiren chanting, he realizes that he does not need the love of any one person, or people in general, to validate his choices and his existance. He uses his newfound insight to bouce back from a med school exam that he flunked while floundering in heartbreak, to redefine himself as a stronger person, and a better doctor for having to relearn the same course material. But what comes next? Clearly, he prioritized gaining expertise in the science of human behavior, far more so than one would expect for a general internist. All of the knowledge he imparts on his patients comes from painstaking study of the topic. As a physician myself, I find myself very interested in this later aspect of his transformation. In addition to being a gifted doctor, he has become a fabulous writer, and expert in cognitive science. How does he manage it? The book is pulled along as his patients follow his advise and are transformed by their efforts. I want to know more about how he becomes the wise man in the exam room.

Overall, it's a very compelling read. I strongly encourage anyone with an interest in psychology or developing inner resolve to pick it up.

[Dave B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The undefeated mind was a very solid nonfictional account of Dr. Lickerman’s exploration into use of his belief in Nichiren Buddhism while dealing with a select few patients. I selected this book based on the it’s title and learning about the personal strength needed to overcome some of my own character issues such as procrastination, integrity and strong work ethics. Likerman was able to present some very helpful points on developing a mission statement and accepting situations that we are not happy with. However, I was partially disappointed because the focus of most of this text was related to overcoming personal medial trials and dealing with loss. I would use this book as a support system for dealing with these issues but not for dealing with everyday events like staying focused at work during a boring work week or continuing my workout routine despite a lack in progress. Over all I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not too sure what to make of this book... I like the idea that the teachings are coming from a qualified Physician fully trained in rational thought but then I draw back a bit when it comes to chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo! I am not sure if that says more about me or about the book but there you go! I certainly like the idea of developing resilience so for that I recommend it and I will look further into this Nichiren Buddhism. I have ordered a few books on it from Amazon so will let you know how that works out!

[Erin O'Riordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of solid psychological hacks for anxiety and depression. I need to keep this one on hand for future reference.

[Claudia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t like the book. It was difficult for me to understand, I found myself reading the same sentence over and over a few times. It was also pretty common sense.

[Bonnie Ayres · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though somewhat interesting, was rather a slow read. Regardless, provided insight into some of all of our basic behaviors and how we handle them.

Found many aspects of situations in my life were cooed with as expected, for one who desires to survive the unexpected challenged of life.

Worth the time.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this one. It took me a while to get through it but I also feel like that's how it should be done. Lickerman has some interesting perspectives about getting through obstacles in our life and provides various anecdotes of research that support them. Some of them sounding very similar to stoic teachings.

[Elham Sarikhani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice teachings on resilience.

[Hans · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected more out of this book. The author most intrigued me with his use of Buddhist mantras to make key self-discoveries about himself and through that new level of self-awareness be able to overcome whatever psychological obstacles were in his path. I wanted to learn more about how this chanting of Mantras might actually work.

He goes on to list a variety of techniques that people can employ to make themselves more resilient and capable to coping and thriving in adversity. He is a Physician so most of his stories are related to how he helped patients deal with the physical, mental and spiritual challenges of their ailments. He uses various research studies to demonstrate just how the techniques affect the human brain. For example the "Loss Aversion" theory states that Humans experience more pain from loss than the benefits they get from gaining something. This sense of Loss Aversion can make people prone to hold on to things that they should let go of, or can be used as a meditation technique where one contemplates the loss of loved ones or other meaningful things in your life. This contemplation is another form of gratitude and has a more powerful effect on the human mind than does simply counting one's blessings.

[ORAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alex Lickerman, a doctor, shares his stories about patients who overcome their mental and physical obstacles. The stories range from learning to cope with loss, developing compassion, and rationalizing our fears. Overall this book is well written, and contains good advice. I would recommend this book to people interested in psychology, or philosophy. His book is written from a Buddhist perspective, while avoiding the typical Buddhist tropes you'd expect in a self help book (AKA "just like, meditate and totally don't worry about anything :)")

I will definitely reread it again.

[Kent Winward · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book and A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy back to back and was mostly intrigued by the similarities between Stoicism and Buddhism.

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful and absolutely brilliant!

[Dennis Nehrenheim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Context & Why I read this book
I'm aiming to read 52 books in 2021, many of which follow the slogan "A Year of Ratio & Will". This is the 8th book I finished. My motivation with this book was quite obvious: I wanted to know what the author has to say about how to construct an "Indestructible Self". Find my other book reviews at: https://www.dennisnehrenheim.com/read

What the book is about
This is a book about how to develop a "strong life force" or personality hardiness: the capacity to survive and even thrive under difficult conditions.
This book is comprised of 10 chapters:
1| The Meaning of Victory
2| Find Your Mission
3| Make a Vow
4| Expect Obstacles
5| Stand Alone
6| Accept Pain
7| Let Go
8| Appreciate the Good
9| Encourage Others
10| Muster Your Courage

In each chapter the author starts of with referencing a dozen or so studies and then mixes in the story of one of his patients. Essentially, the author summarizes theses chapters towards the end as follows: "For we can resist discouragement by articulating our life's mission; accomplish that mission by making a great determination; overcome the obstacles that naturally arise when we make such a determination by changing poison into medicine; gain the strength to change poison into medicine by accepting responsibility and standing against injustice; endure pain by accepting it and loss by letting go ofwhat we cannot keep; enjoy what we have by learning to appreciate it and help ourselves through trauma by helping others; conquer fear by leveraging our connections to the ones we love. And, finally, I realized, gain inspiration from others who've managed to forge an undefeated mind of their own....

One lesson I am taking from it
There are some nuggets contained in "The Undefeated Mind". I especially appreciated the sources provided by the author e.g. quotes from his school of Buddhism like "Only by defeating a powerful enemy can one prove one's real strength." However, one specific thing I will try to take with me is
that I will actually strive to attain what the author calls an "undefeated mind": not just to rebound quickly from adversity or to face it calmly, even confidently, without being pulled down by depression or anxiety, but also to get up day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, decade after decade-even over the course of an entire lifetime-and attack the obstacles in front of us again and again and again until they fall, or we do. This, I think, is an honorable goal and certainly one that fits into the slogan of my 2021.

Reading Recommendation / Who should read this?
This is a rather long and tiresome read. It took me 13+ hours to fight through the 250 pages of the book. Partly, because the author's writing style is not easily digestible but rather exhausting (even though the author does use simple terms) . Secondly, because much of the book feels like vague generalizations from his patients and personal life (even though the book contains 20 pages of references). Third, because the author is a practitioner of Nichiren Buddhism and way to often refers to his personal life stores and that he used "chanting" to get through (all of which, if it were removed without replacement, would have made for a better, less self-centered book). In summary, this is a 4 out of 10 on my personal rating scale:
1 ⭑ — Abysmal; extremely bad. Couldn't / wouldn't finish. No one should waste his time on this!
2 ⭑— Very bad; skipped part of it; skimmed most of it.
3 ⭑⭑ — Bad, but forced me to finish; close to no nuggets to be found.
4 ⭑⭑ — Rather bad; finished but definitely would not give it a re-read.
5 ⭑⭑⭑ — Modest; a few nuggets; reading recommended in certain circumstances
6 ⭑⭑⭑ — OK; the average read. Tangible weaknesses, but recommended with some reservations
7 ⭑⭑⭑⭑ — Good read, despite minor weaknesses; generally recommended
8 ⭑⭑⭑⭑ — Very good; would recommend nearly without restriction
9 ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑ — An outstanding work; worthwhile to be read twice or more often; a definitive recommendation
10 ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑ — A work of genius; should be required for everyone

[Brian Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want an undefeated mind and an indestructible self? Alex Lickerman, MD shows us how in this powerful book.

“But things aren’t as bleak as they seem. Or rather, things are only as bleak as they seem, for the way events impact us depends far more on the lens through which we view them—our inner life state—than on the events themselves. Not that mustering up courage, hope, and confidence in the face of adversity is easy…

Though absolute control over our response to adversity may elude us, influence over it need not. If we can’t change our emotional reactions by force of will, we can at least increase the likelihood that our reactions are constructive by cultivating something psychologists call personality hardiness: the capacity to survive and even thrive under difficult conditions—what in Buddhist terms would be considered a strong life force.

This book is about how we can develop that life force. For hardiness, contrary to popular belief, isn’t something with which only a fortunate few of us have been born, but rather is something we can all create. Hardiness of a kind I’ve come to call an undefeated mind.”

~ Alex Lickerman, MD from The Undefeated Mind

The Undefeated Mind.

I like the sound of THAT. :)

I was introduced to this book via Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is the Way . It’s a fantastic blend of Western science and Eastern mysticism—specifically, a form of Buddhism I had never heard of called Nichiren Buddhism (which focuses on chanting as a means to challenge negativity to bring forth wisdom).

Alex Lickerman is a medical doctor who brilliantly walks us through his nine principles for attaining what he calls “victory” en route to, as the sub-title suggests, “constructing an indestructible self.” The book is packed with inspiring wisdom. (You can pick it up here!)

Some of my favorite big ideas from this book include:

1. Nichiren Buddhism - Key distinction.
2. An Undefeated Mind - What does it look like?
3. The Nine Principles - For creating an indestructible self.
4. Discover Your Mission - Creating value for others.
5. Getting Knocked Down - And getting back up.
6. Changing Poison - Into medicine.
7. Let’s Encourage Others - Every day.
8. Never Be Defeated. - Ever. Period.

I’ve summarized those Big Ideas in a video review that you can watch here.

I’ve also added The Undefeated Mind by Alex Lickerman, M.D. to my collection of Philosopher’s Notes--distilling the Big Ideas into 6-page PDF and 20-minute MP3s on 600+ of the BEST self-development books ever. You can get access to all of those plus a TON more over at heroic.us.

[Shivani · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will summarize this book by providing the titles of every chapter:

1. The Meaning of Victory
2. Find Your Mission
3. Make a Vow
4. Expect Obstacles
5. Stand Alone
6. Accept Pain
7. Let Go
8. Appreciate the Good
9. Encourage Others
10. Muster Your Courage

These titles convey significant meaning. Understanding these steps propels you forward on your journey to becoming a more resilient self.

Personally, I had expected more from this book based on its title. In each chapter, Dr. Lickerman shares the stories of his patients related to that topic, which is valuable for understanding how to cope with various emotions in different situations, fostering compassion for oneself and others.

Additionally, as many people have already mentioned, I found this book to be a promotion of Nichiren Buddhism, which aligns with the author's personal beliefs.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Undefeated Mind is a book that combines the teachings of Nichiren Buddhism with the latest scientific research on various topics relating to mindset and resilience. The author provides several examples, tools, and case studies to support his view of not trying to make your life easy, but cultivating the inner strength to enjoy the difficult life you have. A list of each study referenced can be found broken down by chapter in the back of the book as well. This book seemed intriguing and I was really looking forward to reading it. However, I found it to be an extremely dry read (and I read scientific journals for fun). The content and ideas provided were good, but I felt like I had to apply some of the practices in this book just to get through the book. That’s how painful it was.

[Tatty Kee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read that introduced me to ideas in Nichiren Buddhism that differ from other branches of Buddhism. Namely, that desires don't need to be alleviated to avoid suffering, just recognised as nonessential.
Simple but wise teaching were presented nicely through patient anecdotes backed by scientific studies and reason. Although not explicitly the purpose of this book, it demonstrated how changing one's mindset can fix issues in ways yet to be achieved through modern medicines or therapies.

[E.R. Leyva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Notes:

"Actions create feelings more often than feelings create actions.
The more value we create for others, the more value we assign to ourselves
Defeat comes not from failing, but from giving up.
The reason optimism yields results isn’t that we necessarily tend to try harder when we think a goal is achievable; rather we tend to try more often.
Use positive feedback as a sign of strong commitment, and not sufficient progress.
Fighting injustice when we ourselves have been unjust doesn’t make us hypocrites. It makes us flawed people trying to improve."

[Dustin · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book introduces basic concepts for most issues someone might be struggling with, I found the 'true stories' aspect made the reading clunky. The author's own experiences helped relate some of the ideas in a different context, but I felt that the author's Buddhist experience was often unnecessary to the methods or conclusions discussed.
All in all, it felt like a short book that barely dipped into some of the topics. If you're looking for an introduction for developing inner strength, this is great, but ultimately I feel it leaves the reader wanting.

[Fotis Koutoulakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually consumed this as an audiobook.

Outstanding writing and narration.

One of the best books I've read this year, and one of the best books on resilience and self improvement I've read thus far.

Even had me tear up at a couple of spots - which, considering the empathy deficit I've sadly developed over the last few years, was surprising and contributed to my perceiving the book as particularly moving and emotionally engaging.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this book on Audible. I enjoyed the wisdom of the author who is Nichiren Buddhist and a Medical Doctor. While many of the precepts are timeless truths found in self-help, I found a few never considered before nuggets that, on the surface, would seem counterintuitive, but ultimately Truth.

[Colin P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flawed but life-affirming book. The science is mostly boring self-help pop-psychology, a lot of which did not survive the replication crisis; I guess the author didn't get the memo.
I still enjoyed it. Neat introduction to Nichiren Buddhism, and some good advice if one decides to fall for the modern stoicism meme.

[Jean Occeus · Rating 4 out of 5]

New ways to think when faced with the inevitable.

I liked the reading of this book. The author kept me on the edge of my seat as presented information that I should know instinctively, but was yet unexpected. Nothing but tears of sorrow and tears of triumph fell from my eyes as I turned through the pages. Great job.

[Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr Lickerman is a physician who presents self help via the medium of Nichiren Buddhism. It was pretty solid in presenting the science behind various coping strategies for life, distraction as a useful tool etc. Whether this translates into psychological balm for the bigger questions I'm not so sure.

[JoAnna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful. At the intersection between the two philosophies of stoicism and nichiren Buddhism. Pet treats Buddhism as more of a philosophy than a religion. One that gives a guideline and map to how to live life.

[Paperback Prinsass · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars. An excellent, thoughtful read on considering the shitty parts of life as gifts rather than curses all thru the lens of Nichiren Buddhism. Although some of this has been said before in books like the Road Less Traveled, it is still insightful and beautiful.

[Fred Ayres · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although a lot of the information and sources in this book were already known to me, it was great to them compiled all in one place. Lickerman delivers an incomparable tome on how to develop and maintain an undefeated mind.

[Jesper Mosegaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing.
This book was well-written, and well-documented throughout.