With a confrontational title like that, of course I wouldn’t be able to resist. I was first madeaware of this book around 2022, paged through it, got annoyed and immediately put it down.

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Two years later, in a goodbye message to our company, an ex-colleague referenced this book alongside ‘I wouldn’t be bothered if none of you reach out to me, so please don’t feel pressured to do so.

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’Woah’, I thought, ‘what perspectives did this book unlock for this guy to be so blunt?’

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Well, I was looking for a book to read over the December break anyway, so I tried this one, and I’m super glad I did.

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‍Book Summary:

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The Courage to Be Disliked is a self-help book by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga, inspired by the principles of Adlerian psychology.

Unlike Freudian psychology, Adlerian psychology presents the idea that people can choose to be free from the burdens of past traumas and societal expectations by accepting responsibility for their own lives.



Instead of dwelling on blame or victimhood, it encourages personal growth through courage, self-acceptance, and cooperation with others.

This book follows an old-school conversational style that illustrates how developing this mindset can lead to a more fulfilling and authentic life.

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My Takeaway:

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It was super confrontational at first, but yet, I couldn’t resist picking it back up again and again.

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I can tell how good a book is going to be for me by how much it agitates my ego.



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After finishing it, I’m much more at peace with myself and those around me. I now get to see people more as friends than enemies.



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If you feel like you could use some of this, just know it’ll call you out, so make sure to pick it up in a format you know you’ll actually consume.