Mackay what makes us tick

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Find a book you'll love, get our newsletter name email. YES I have read and consent to Hachette Australia using my personal information or data as set out in its Privacy Policy and I understand I have the right to withdraw my consent at any time. This website uses cookies. Using this website means you are okay with this but you can find out more and learn how to manage your cookie choices here. Aug 27, Pip Tlaskal added it.

Very interesting to dip into and reflect that all of our impulses are ways of having these ten desires fulfilled. Some of the desires are obvious; such as the desire for love and belonging whilst others are more circumspect; the desire for something to happen.

Each of the ten desires would be a great starting point for a short story. Dec 14, Banafsheh Serov rated it liked it. Truth be told, I am a sucker for studies on social behaviours.

Complex and insecure, we have a tendency to think of ourselves as the most important person in the world, with problems and desires that are uniquely our own. Interestingly, Mackay also offers explanations as to the motivation behind Truth be told, I am a sucker for studies on social behaviours. Interestingly, Mackay also offers explanations as to the motivation behind some of the uglier characteristics of our behaviour.

Peppered throughout the book are quotes that add personal colour and life to each chapter. There is nothing new or earth shattering revealed here. Most readers will recognise these desires in themselves and in their daily interactions with others. The ten desires chronicled connect us and by recognizing and acknowledging them, we can learn to be a little kinder, more accepting and a little less self-possessed.

View 1 comment. Aug 07, Chris Walker rated it liked it. At times I thought this book was a bit too comfortably middle class Australian but in general I found some kernels of wisdom and reassurance here. It is a useful exercise to stop and think about what we all are striving for and I think Hugh Mackay has listened to enough people in his career to be able to make a good stab at the essentials.

The fact that he is able to come away from the experience with a feeling of optimism and faith in us despite his assurance that there is little we can control At times I thought this book was a bit too comfortably middle class Australian but in general I found some kernels of wisdom and reassurance here. The fact that he is able to come away from the experience with a feeling of optimism and faith in us despite his assurance that there is little we can control apart from ourselves - and we don't seem to be doing a great job of that - speaks volumes about the man himself.

Oct 22, Jeremy Elias rated it liked it. Interesting read. It covers a lot of things that most already know. There are some intriguing parts to the book however there is plenty of fluff in between. Interesting concept, reasonable execution. Nov 15, Ben Scobie rated it it was ok. A bit boring really. Missing the flair i'm used to from books that try to explain why we are the way we are Oct 18, Kaz rated it it was ok. Some interesting ideas, but read with a grain of salt.

May 02, Scott rated it liked it. Some books age quickly -the global financial crisis- Hah how about a pandemic! The book layout lots of facts and knowledge, well written and very easy to read. Our desire for war is bound up with patriotic greed, economic greed, religious greed, territorial greed, delusions of grandeur, paranoia, insecurity, cultural identity and val The book layout lots of facts and knowledge, well written and very easy to read.

Our desire for war is bound up with patriotic greed, economic greed, religious greed, territorial greed, delusions of grandeur, paranoia, insecurity, cultural identity and values, and with the dark, ignoble side of human nature - the side that wants to crush opponents rather than deal with them.

Aug 06, Ian Kloester rated it liked it. Every time I read Hugh's work i find an insightful voice. A voice full of reason, compassion and understanding of what it is to be human. Although drawn from observations that are arguably more anecdotal than empirical, Hugh's list of 'ten desires that make us tick' are as compelling and as convincing as anything I've read on the subject.

Especially his assertion that our most important desire of all is Simple and easy to read, Hugh has found another reason fo Every time I read Hugh's work i find an insightful voice. Simple and easy to read, Hugh has found another reason for us to take him seriously. As if he needed another. This will help you understand why we do what we do.

And maybe why some seem more or less engaged in life around them than others. This book was a fascinating insight into the 10 desires that drive all human beings: to be taken seriously; for 'my place'; for something to believe in; to connect; to be useful; to belong; for more; for control; for something to happen; for love.

What I found most interesting was the fact that often when we are in conflict with ourselves or others this is a sign that some of these desires are being 'frustrated'.

And, I could actually relate this to my own experiences. I would definitely recomme This book was a fascinating insight into the 10 desires that drive all human beings: to be taken seriously; for 'my place'; for something to believe in; to connect; to be useful; to belong; for more; for control; for something to happen; for love. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to understand themselves and others more.

I love Hugh Mackay's work and look forward to reading his insights further. Dec 19, J. Their observations are those of detached objectivity, but the dignity and individuality of the lives they describe can be missing. No such charge could be made of Mackay.

He clearly has a deep respect and warmth for his subjects. Mackay thinks that all people are "endlessly fascinating" and that there is much to learn from offering the gift of attentive listening. It's a gift that he has clearly given to many over the course of a long career. The desire for love, says Mackay, is the deepest of all our desires that when freely given offers the most enduring contribution to a better world.

He doesn't hide the allusions to 1 Corinthians 13 when he writes that love is about action as much as feeling and true love seeks no recognition or reward. He even borrows the language of the Apostle Paul when he surmises that when it's authentic, love is constant and faithful and perseveres.

Mackay is not a believer himself, but I can imagine his research on contemporary life being easily employed to spice up Sunday sermons. Anyone who holds to a Christian outlook would find strong connections here with Mackay's take on the world. At the very least, his work emphasises again that Christian faith has something to say about every aspect of the human experience. The desire to be taken seriously, for example, is the only one of the ten here that Mackay singles out and declares to be sovereign.

It's about a deep yearning for ways to be acknowledged as unique and significant. The preachers will want to remind us of the belief that every person is a unique creature made in God's image - a life that is precious beyond all measure and utterly unrepeatable.

Pulpits, where they still exist, will echo Mackay's assessment of the desire for control - the one he says is the most likely to frustrate and disappoint us. The bewildering rate of change of modern life has created an epidemic of anxiety in the West according to Mackay.

No doubt, in response, congregations will likely hear reminders of Jesus's Sermon on the Mount and his call to "not worry" about tomorrow, but find peace in him. Similarly, when Mackay discusses our desire for connection, he urges self-knowledge, good relationship with others, and interaction with the natural world. Mackay talks about the natural world and its "beauty, its grandeur, its ugliness, its life-giving richness and life-sapping desolation.