Existential Courage is a much-needed book for everyone looking to answer the questions, “What’s next for me? What in the world am I doing with my life? How can I make my life truly matter?”
Bringing together the practice of human-centered design, scientific research, and practical, real-life learnings from Serafico’s over 15,000 students, this book will transform the way you look at pursuing your passion and discovering your life’s purpose.
Unlike many Instagram quotes, it doesn’t stop at being motivational or inspirational—it gives you real, actionable exercises that you can dive into. (Plane ticket and Eat, Pray, Love experience not required.)
Existential Courage does NOT aim to hand you a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all formula. Instead, it will:
● Show you how to turn your existential crisis into a life-defining moment ● Provide you with better questions to reflect on, so you can get better answers ● Help you avoid the quicksand of over-introspection, so you can keep moving forward ● Show you the crucial signs, clues, and milestones of purpose in your life ● Teach you to synthesize your experiences into meaningful Aha! moments to help you know who you are and what’s important to you
I'm quite new to the personal development, self-help genre; I'm glad Existential Courage was my first.
This book was helpful in my goal-setting for 2020. It's part pep talk, part instructional guide informed by Arriane's years of research, experience, and engagement with her community.
Existential Courage was very informative - the author looks into etymology, cites academic studies, and gives narrative examples. Its structure was very easy to follow, and more importantly, easy to apply. A great bonus is that the writing itself and the illustrations made the book fun to read!
Filed under: Best Purchases I've Ever Made in 2020!
This is the first book I ever bought on Amazon for my Kindle Paperwhite, and although the price was just right, I believe that this book was worth more, because of the tremendous value this book has given me.
It's amazing how the author was able to not only discuss an existential crisis thoroughly, but also to provide an actual framework to navigating life's toughest questions. As someone in her 20s, still figuring out adulting and always having an existential crisis, I saw this book like a big sister I never had. I felt understood, guided, and valued.
I also found that I relate a lot to the author because we graduated from the same university, and shared the same values and ideals because of it. It may have been years since my graduation, yet I still feel an enormous fear that I may never create the positive impact that I want to create in the world, or even end up abandoning it completely. But this book and its exercises kept these ideals alive and in motion. This book was, in summary, a giant push in life.
I wish more people would know this book. I recommend this to everyone, no matter where you are in life. We all need this book. I will definitely be rereading this and redoing the exercises at another point in my life.
"The work ahead is to align your daily actions with your big-picture vision--to align your present self with the person you wanted to become."
Existential Courage is a book for all the students in life. It is full of exercises that will help you redefine how you view your life,how you deal with your circumstances and how you plan to your goal/destination. Arriane's words will not be limited in the pages of this book, it will be extended to you (like a buzz in your brain or in a super random puppy you saw somewhere) as you continue to establish and strengthen your core routine.
"Improving yourself is a step in the right direction, but not the destination."
I would highly recommend this to all people who, like me, has been in the never-ending loop of fear.
In this book, you'll be guided in finding your anchor to pursue your purposeful life by changing your perspective, redefining your purpose and putting it into practice.
It’s the kind of book you must not finish in one sitting, but to savour per chapter.
A book distinctly Arriane (yes, double R) with the provided prompts and actionable items.
If I need to sum it up in five words:
REFRAME QUESTION. PERSPECTIVE. PURPOSE. PRACTICE.
And even though I have already attended a class of hers (and joined the Instagram challenges), this book still helped me affirm what I think my core values are. The missions/practice rooms lead me to a reflective state each time and were good, really good, journal prompts.
This book is worth revisiting on different life seasons.
Highly recommended to people who keeps on asking “what do I really want to do with my life?” And here’s Arriane three-chapter answer ironically in different sets of stirring questions. But since it’s Arriane, one would always need to a pen and some paper and some 10 minutes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This book helped me a lot in plotting out how do I see myself and how I can nurture it in the long run. My favorite part was the core 3 I've written out for myself and during this quarantine, I noticed that I functioned my way out of those three things – empathy, service and perseverance. 💕
The beautiful part was I met the author of this book, Miss Arriane and got to attend her book launching and have my book signed by her. 🥺
While it took me awhile to finish the entire thing, I made sure to write down my answers in every activities at the end of each chapter and I'm so looking forward to act out on my goals especially for this new year to come. 💕
On the off chance that I actually get my life together, I have this book to thank. Just realized that my approach to planning my career trajectory has been all wrong for the longest time... the reason why I keep taking on too much work and spreading myself thin is that I don't have any guiding principles or ~clear purpose~ telling me which opportunities are worth taking :/ My life is definitely not gonna change overnight but maybe it's actually possible now omg much to think about
this isn't even a self-help book, but a full on workbook that you're gonna have to answer and reflect on. the missions get intense, so they're not something you can breeze through either.
definitely not for everyone, but if you're going through it (like i was when i picked this up), this book will give you clarity, guaranteed. at the very least, it will teach you to ask the right questions :)
can't believe a self-help book is in my favorites but here we are 💁♀️
“Don’t do nothing just because you can’t do everything.”
When I get overwhelmed by what’s happening in my life and around me, I’m privileged enough to have some of the grittiest, most hopeful women mentors. Women who I can run to when I’m close to a tearful, questioning-all-my-life’s-choices breakdown. One of them is Arriane. She was my first-ever boss, a huge reason why I am the person I am today, and the author of this gift of a (work)book.
Existential Courage is precisely what the world’s servant leaders, helpers, and builders need. It’s a book for the significant crises in one’s life: quarter-life, mid-life, existential, you name it. It’s for those who are figuring out their reasons for being amidst all the fear and despair.
I love how this book doesn’t present a singular solution to all the existential questions out there. Instead, it teaches a framework that allows you to figure out your core values or the things that matter most to you, so you could then map out a life that is courageous and true.
It’s not even your regular self-help book! It’s so smart and funny––Arriane’s wit shines through the pages––and the stories are relatable that you’ll feel really attacked. (Tough love, you know!) The exercises and little surprises (I enjoy the Wildcards so much) were helpful, too!
This is a 5-star book and an excellent roadmap for living a life that matters––not just to you but also for the world. Pick it up when you need a major life pick-me-up!
Don't do nothing just because you can't do everything!
I have the paperback and the author went out of her way to make sure the digital version was a clear and beautiful as the physical book. It's a book better on kindle because there is so much quotable phrases you should highlight! Beautifully written and a lot of heart. Can't wait for more!
"Perspective - is all about mindsets and attitudes" This book is really great for people who somewhere in there in 20's or at any age that lost track of their goals or for people who are indecisive in their choices in life. This is a step-by-step guide, more likely you should not read it fast paced. Her descriptions or analogy directly correlates her theories well.
Started reading this last year, and I haven't opened it for so long. Putting to DNF for now. I'm currently not in a stage in my life where I need the advice from this book.
this is a book full of practical exercises focused on shifting your perspective, finding your purpose, and finally practicing it. i appreciate the friendly and funny tone of the author, i also like the seatworks because it prompts me to do it while implementing what i have read. i also love that the author pushes its readers to consider other perspectives, even recognizing how political and socio-economic factors influence our purpose. the illustrations are very cute and it makes the book friendly and accessible. one critique though is that the book was published in heavy paper and the glue the holds the book makes it quite delicate. i think it would be better if this book was published in a spring bind or soft paper because you kinda need to lay the book flat while you're reading and doing the seatworks. but overall, it is an excellent book and this feels like a required reading for all fresh graduates or anyone who feels lost, this book helps you find yourself and what steps you would take to get to where you want to go.
I find the book very relatable and the author provided actionable activities that will really make your work on your purpose. Five stars for this book!