Joy of Missing Out

Svend Brinkmann lived quietly as a professor of psychology at Aalborg University until he published Stand Firm, which became an overnight bestseller and quickly established him as a leading public intellectual and cultural critic. Winner of the prestigious Rosenkjær prize, Svend travels widely to host events and lecture on the key problems of modern life. In 2018 he published the acclaimed Standpoints. He has also appeared in various television documentaries, and presented Danish television’s Live Fast! programmes and the Meaningful Life series on Danish Radio 1.

• ForewordIntroduction: Having it all1. The sustainable society2. Pursuing the Good3. The value of moderation4. Marshmallows and treadmills5. The joy of missing out

"The Joy of Missing Out makes a powerful, compelling and much-needed argument for self-restraint – on pragmatic grounds, moral grounds, psychological grounds and even aesthetic grounds. Be sure to read this book before your next shopping trip, or job change, or relationship change. This is as good a case as I have seen for when and why less can be more."—Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice and co-author of Practical Wisdom"An exhilarating broadside against the intense modern pressure to do more, be more, to become happier and more productive, and to 'find yourself'. In championing Stoicism over the relentless and exhausting wild-goose chase of self-help, Svend Brinkmann – though he might not like the fact – has written a book that truly helps."—Oliver Burkeman, The Guardian"This volume by the Danish psychology professor Svend Brinkmann is designed to liberate us from over-stimulated modern lives through the old fashioned ideas of restraint and moderation."—Financial Times"This smart little pamphlet is, in a way, a manifesto for personal degrowth, or shrinkage."—Steven Poole, The Guardian"Compelling"—Moya Sarner, The Guardian"Stimulating"—The Globe and Mail