meditations for mortals: four weeks to embrace your limitations and finally make time for what counts

 
　　完美的人生，是什麼模樣呢？心理學專欄作家奧利佛．柏克曼（Oliver Burkeman）在博覽哲學、宗教、文學和心理學書籍與名人語錄後，領悟完美不過是虛妄的幻想，根本不存在於現實之中！《Meditations for Mortals》（凡人沉思錄）是一趟長達四個禮拜的靜心旅程——當我們願意承認生命有其侷限，接納不完美的本質，就能釋放焦慮感，放心擁抱「不追求完美」的人生哲學。
 
　　作者在前作《人生四千個禮拜》揭示「終極的時間管理，就是生命的管理。」即使有幸能夠活到八十歲的高齡，一生也不過短短四千多個禮拜而已！在生命有限的前提下，我們必須追求更高的效率、更卓越的生產力，卯足全力試圖掌控一切，以瘋狂忙碌的節奏、無止盡的任務列表，證明自己是沒有虛擲時光的時間管理大師？本書將幫助我們找到新的平衡點，事實上，我們反而該學著放下某些目標，在不完美中獲得解放的快樂！
 
　　作者帶領我們從「管理自己有限的生命」的角度反思，為自己的人生做出更明智的選擇。意識到「時間管理」思考上的謬誤，就能修正思維與慣性，重新衡量日常生活中的挑戰：時間的限制、分心的誘惑、虛妄與現實……活得更自由，更有意義！
 
　　《後悔的力量》作者丹尼爾‧品克（Daniel Pink）評論：「這本書提供了令人耳目一新的解方，指出減少目標和工作，接納不完美的逆思維，不但是被允許的，往往還是更聰明的做法。不僅撫慰了讀者的內心，同時也重新定義了挑戰，貼合這個世代大眾的需求。」(文/博客來編譯)

A map for a liberating journey toward a more meaningful life--a journey that begins where we actually find ourselves, not with a fantasy of where we’d like to be--from the New York Times bestselling author of Four Thousand Weeks

Addressing the fundamental questions about how to live, Meditations for Mortals offers a powerful new way to take action on what counts: a guiding philosophy of life Oliver Burkeman calls ＂imperfectionism.＂ It helps us tackle challenges as they crop up in our daily lives: our finite time, the lure of distraction, the impossibility of doing anything perfectly.

How can we embrace our nonnegotiable limitations? Or make good decisions when there’s always too much to do? How do we shed the illusion that life will really begin as soon as we can ＂get on top of everything＂? Reflecting on quotations drawn from philosophy, religion, literature, psychology, and self-help, Burkeman explores a combination of practical tools and daily shifts in perspective. The result is a life-enhancing and surprising challenge to much familiar advice--and a profound yet entertaining crash course in living more fully.

To be read either as a four-week ＂retreat of the mind＂ or devoured in one or two sittings, Meditations for Mortals will be a source of solace and inspiration, and an aid to a saner, freer, and more enchantment-filled life. In anxiety-inducing times, it is rich in truths we have never needed more.

Oliver Burkeman worked for many years for The Guardian, where he wrote a popular weekly column on psychology, This Column Will Change Your Life. His books include the New York Times bestseller Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals and The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking.