Evans' Movember Reading Challenge

This month for Movember, I challenged myself to do something slightly out of my comfort zone: read a non-fiction book on mental health.

Anyone who knows me knows I’ve always been a big advocate for mental wellbeing — from serving as VP Well-Being in my student council to building communities and consuming psychology content since I was 17.

But when it comes to reading? I’m a fantasy-fiction person through and through. The only non-fiction book I’ve ever finished was The Mom Test. So starting another one felt… risky. I hate leaving books unfinished.

After digging through Reddit recommendations, I picked Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr. Julie Smith — and honestly, it’s been a joy to read so far. I’m only 20% in, squeezing in chapters on bus rides between commitments (startup life!), but it’s already been one of the most impactful things I’ve done for Movember.

My biggest takeaway so far: thought biases.

Dr. Smith solidified a concept I’ve been learning over the past year — that our brain isn’t broken or “overthinking for no reason.” It’s trying to help us, but it relies heavily on shortcuts, assumptions, and predictions.

She breaks down common thought biases in a way that made them click even more clearly.

Some examples being the top 4:

1. Mind reading – assuming we know what others think

2. Overgeneralisation – one bad moment = everything is bad

3. Emotional reasoning – “I feel it, so it must be true”

4. All-or-nothing thinking – perfection or failure

Growing up, I used to be a big overthinker. Over the past year I’ve learned to let certain thoughts pass instead of fighting them — and this book helped me label why certain thoughts show up and how my brain is trying to protect me.

As Dr. Smith says: we can’t control the thoughts that pop up, but we can control our spotlight of attention.

The second thing that hit me: the mind–body loop.

One idea that stuck with me was:

“Are you sad because you’re cold, or cold because you’re sad?”

I’ve never thought about emotions this way before, but it’s true — our physical state heavily influences our mental state. And while you can’t always change how you feel, you can adjust your physical environment: warmth, movement, posture, breathing.

Those small adjustments have already helped me break out of certain emotional loops, even on days where a lot is going on in the startup.

What this Movember challenge taught me

I went into this expecting another “mental health book.”

What I got was a clearer, more grounded understanding of concepts I’ve been practicing throughout the year — and new tools I didn’t know I needed.

Even though Movember is ending, I’m definitely finishing the book. If anything, this challenge reminded me that taking care of your mental wellbeing doesn’t need grand gestures. Sometimes it’s just learning something new about yourself, one bus ride at a time.

If you’ve been wanting a practical and digestible guide to emotional resilience, I genuinely recommend this book.