Productive Reading: Switch Craft, by Elaine Fox, PhD – TPW486

In this latest episode of our recurring Productive Reading series, we look at Elaine Fox, PhD's fascinating book, Switch Craft: The Hidden Power of Mental Agility. Dr. Elaine Fox's book, Switch Craft, helps us build the skills to help us navigate a constantly changing world This week we're continuing our Productive Reading recurring series. In the past, we’ve talked about the lessons and key takeaways I found in books about productivity-related topics that I’ve found helpful and thought-provoking, including books by authors like Gary Keller, Charles Duhigg, Brené Brown, Courtney Carver, Jeff Sanders, James Clear, Michael Hyatt, Maura Nevel Thomas, Joshua Becker, Greg McKeown, Cal Newport, Dominique Sachse, Laura Vanderkam, Nir Eyal, and most recently talking about an intriguing book by Dr. Anna Lembke, called Dopamine Nation (episode 474). (Scroll to the bottom of this post for links to the previous episodes in the Productive Reading series. This time I’m sharing some of my most important takeaways from a book recommended by someone in the TPW community: Switch Craft, by Elaine Fox, Ph.D.  Who is Elaine Fox  The book's back cover copy tells us that “Elaine Fox, PhD, is a psychologist, author, and the head of the School of Psychology at the University of Adelaide, Australia. Prior to her move to Australia, Dr. Fox founded and directed the renowned Oxford Centre for Emotions and Affective Neuroscience (OCEAN) at the University of Oxford. She is a leading mental health researcher, combining genetics, psychology, and neuroscience in her work. Dr. Fox also runs Oxford Elite Performance, a consulting group bringing cutting-edge science and psychology to those at the top levels of sport, business, and the military. Her 2012 book Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain is an international bestseller.” Why did I read this book This book was recommended by someone in the TPW community in a discussion in the Facebook group--I’m sorry but I can’t recall who it was and couldn’t find the post. The title and description intrigued me, as one of my lifelong weaknesses is that I struggle to cope with change and especially with uncertainty. At the beginning of the book, she included two epigraphs--quotes that she clearly thought were relevant to the book’s topic. One is a quote from Gautama Buddha that resonated with me: “Freedom and happiness are found in the flexibility and ease with which we move through change.”  This is another book for which I first bought the Audible version, and there was so much in it that I wanted to be able to think about that I bought a print version of it so I could re-read and annotate passages I wanted to ponder more. The book is subtitled: The Hidden Power of Mental Agility. The more I looked into it, the more interested I became.   “Harnessing the power of an agile mind--what I call “switch craft”--can be transformative.”  What “switch craft” is: “Switch craft refers to those natural skills that are necessary to help us navigate a complex and unpredictable world.” It’s the ability to adapt to change and choose the right tools to cope with challenges, obstacles, and stresses of life.  An “agile” mindset: “the capacity to flex our thoughts, feelings, and actions” as needed to address the inevitable change and challenges life brings The book is divided into several parts There is a brief introduction that introduces the context of the book and the problem the book is intended to solve. The section called “The Fundamentals” consists of four chapters that explain “Why Switc...