Unpopular opinion: that book club pick about 'trust the process' was terrible advice

My friend Sarah told me I should just 'trust the process' when our book club picked that self-help book about going with the flow. So I did. I stopped prepping for discussions, stopped taking notes, and just showed up. Result? I got absolutely destroyed in the debate because I had no solid points to back up my stance. I ended up looking like I hadn't even read the book. Has anyone else ever followed advice from a fellow club member that backfired hard?

3 comments

3 Comments

owens.anthony1mo ago

yo same thing happened to me but with a different book. my friend Mark was like "just go with the flow man, don't overthink it" so I showed up to our club meeting without even finishing the last chapter. turns out everyone else had done the homework and I was just sitting there nodding along while they tore apart the author's main argument. felt like such a fool when I couldn't defend my take on the ending. never again lol.

kai_webb911mo ago

Dude @owens.anthony, I've been in that exact spot and it stings. The trick I learned the hard way is to just admit you didn't finish before the group gets too deep. It takes the pressure off and sometimes people even appreciate the honesty because they're scared to say it too. Plus then you can ask real questions about the parts you missed instead of faking it. I do the same thing with movies my friends hype up, I just say "I'm only halfway through be careful what you spoil" and it buys me time.

adams.uma1mo ago

That whole thing reminds me of how people do the same thing in regular conversations too. I've noticed folks nod along to stuff they don't fully understand just to avoid looking lost, whether it's about a new phone, a show everyone's talking about, or even some weird slang the kids are using. It's like we'd rather fake it than be the one person who has to ask what something means. But every time I've gotten caught pretending I knew something I didn't, it just made me feel more stupid in the end. Better to look clueless for a second than to build a whole fake story that collapses when someone asks a real question.