Trauma, it seems, is a trend these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But according to psychologist Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman<\/strong>, it\u2019s not the kind that leads us down the runway of awareness. It\u2019s the kind where we wear our wounds like couture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow, we have vulnerability on steroids<\/em>,\u201d he says in a Mindvalley Book Club interview. \u201cThe only way to connect to another person now is through your vulnerability<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s nothing wrong with that. But when pain becomes fashion instead of fuel for transformation, that\u2019s when society has a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that problem, as Dr. Kaufman points out, hides a deeper truth: most people aren\u2019t ready to heal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a lot to say about the<\/em> Scott Barry Kaufman. His credentials, they are aplenty:<\/p>\n\n\n\n And if that wasn\u2019t enough, there\u2019s also this fun fact:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was rejected from American Idol<\/em>,\u201d he shares. \u201cTwice<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Impressive lineup, to say the least. So it\u2019s no wonder the Mindvalley Book Club host, Kristina M\u04d3nd-Lakhiani<\/a>, introduces him as \u201creally remarkable, amazing<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But behind all the accolades is someone who knows what it feels like to be underestimated. As a child, Dr. Kaufman struggled with an auditory disability that made teachers label him \u201cslow.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n He wasn\u2019t. He was simply wired differently: imaginative, curious, and quietly determined to prove that human potential can\u2019t be measured by a report card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That ethos shaped everything Dr. Kaufman stands for today. He’s out here helping people see what they’re truly capable of. And his latest book, Rise Above: Overcome a Victim Mindset, Empower Yourself, and Realize Your Full Potential<\/em><\/a>, is his contribution to a world stuck in its own pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI wanted to write a book that met people more where they are right now<\/em>,\u201d he says. \u201cIt feels like people are really suffering right now<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s exactly what the World Health Organization reported. More than a billion people worldwide are living with mental health conditions<\/a>, and rates of anxiety and depression have surged since the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think that there\u2019s so much more humans could become<\/em>,\u201d Dr. Kaufman adds. And yet, few truly rise above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most people want to rise above their pain. The problem, Dr. Kaufman points out, is that we\u2019re wired and conditioned not to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHelplessness is the default state in humans<\/em>,\u201d he says. And, as research shows, that\u2019s why we cling to what hurts us<\/a>. It feels safer than venturing into the unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It doesn\u2019t help that the current culture we live in rewards even the tiniest of traumas. Likes and algorithm-driven sympathies have become social currency<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And when someone begins to heal, there\u2019s the so-called survivor\u2019s guilt<\/a>. Dr. Kaufman explains that there\u2019s \u201csomething in human nature where you can feel almost guilty saying that you\u2019re doing good when other people aren\u2019t doing good<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As if that weren\u2019t enough, he points out that our evolutionary design prioritizes survival over joy. \u201cOur genes don\u2019t care about our happiness. They just care about our survival and reproduction<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So it\u2019s no wonder so many of us are feeling stuck in life<\/a>. We\u2019re rewarded for feeling broken, wired to fear change, and distracted by pain that feels familiar.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWho is Scott Barry Kaufman exactly?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Why we struggle to \u201crise above,\u201d according to Scott Barry Kaufman<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
5 powerful practices from Scott Barry Kaufman to rise above pain and grow stronger<\/h2>\n\n\n\n