Today at Life Squared we are launching an important new publication – our first book, in fact. It’s called ‘The Life Trap – and how to escape it’, and is available as a free download or audiobook,here.

Using the latest insights from psychology and neuroscience, the book argues that human beings are not as rational or well-informed as most of us think we are. We are in fact highly vulnerable to manipulation by other people – particularly those with wealth and power.

We also live in a complex world with more influences acting upon us than ever before – including politics, the media, advertising and many others. As a result, many of us end up being moulded by these influences, leading to us getting trapped within restricted worldviews and lives that simply follow the dominant ideas of the people and society that surround us.

This can not only be harmful to our own lives, but can also have serious implications for society, as it leaves us vulnerable to manipulation by others – including materialism, the press and the influence of political demagogues. At a time of political upheaval and rising populism, this is clearly an urgent issue.

Given this picture of non-rational human beings and the complex, pressurised world we live in, we need to be given the skills to live our own well-informed lives and not simply be moulded by other people – including the wealthy and powerful. We also need a society that helps to protect our mental freedom and provides the conditions for us to think for ourselves.

Sadly, the society we currently live in and the institutions that surround us – including our children’s education system – don’t recognise the importance of these skills and don’t equip us with them to anywhere near the level we need. In fact, we live at a time where the external conditions in society actually militate against us developing them.

The book explores what we can do about this situation – both as a society and as individuals. It will also show how we can empower ourselves with these skills so that we have a better chance of escaping our own particular ‘life traps’ and move towards a happier, fairer and more peaceful society.