If you are one of the many people in this country that suffers from obesity, nicotine addiction or drinking too much then you already know first hand what a bad habit can do to you, your family and your way of life. Of course there are a lot of so-called miracle cures out there but if they really worked then why do people need more than one of them? In any case in the rest of this article I will be doing a review of a book that offers the opportunity of getting past your bad habits and changing them for more positive ones.
Introducing “Change Your Habits – Change Your Life”
I came across this book while perusing the “Advice & Hot-To” section on the Amazon book store. I was looking for information to give to a friend that is having issues losing weight and keeping it off. In my opinion a permanent type of change usually means making a change to lifestyle. In this specific situation I wanted them to come to this realization themselves rather than me offering it. I read some reviews and then settled on four books I thought would suffice. After quickly skimming them I settled on the “Change Your Habits-Change Your Life” one. The main reason was that it seemed to be complete and offered a plan.
Book Summary
The book was written around the idea that change when it is permanent is enacted through six stages. It is written in two parts and comes complete with worksheets, flowcharts and other graphic aids. In the first part it goes into detail for each of the six change stages and provides examples or anecdotes that illustrate the stage being examined in that chapter. In the first part of the book the chapters are each followed by a recap section that has 3-5 points of interest that the reader should keep in mind about that chapter. In the second part of the book the author has provided a daily plan of action complete with worksheets that the reader can use to get rid of a bad habit. There is also a quick starter plan that deals with improving relationships, losing weight, improving finances and improving well-being.
What I Liked
The two things I liked most about the book was the style of writing and the intent to be more of a “how-To” guide versus a “what to do” guide. The author clearly put time and effort into making sure that the reader got a clear explanation of how change worked and then offered a systematic way to actually implement it.
By offering the reader two parts it gives them the choice to delve into learning the reasons behind change when it works or just getting into the detailed action plan that is part of the book. This type of book formatting lends itself to people actually using the information in the book rather than just reading it. It can also be a big time saver for those skimming.
What I Didn’t Like
When it came to discussing how to improve relationships, losing weight, improving finances and improving well-being the author gave some good examples of how to use his system of change to implement. But they were brief and I would have liked to have had more anecdotal information for each one. I fully understand that each of these subjects could and probably should be a separate book on their own.
This book has a lot of information in it. I can see the author was trying to include everything they thought was important to the reader on the subject. I think it would have been better served to have a series of smaller reports that were all related. I think this is the reason the author includes a chapter recap and diagrams throughout. To make sure the reader is able to follow everything.
Final Word
The author has done a good job in packaging effective psychological strategies along with an action plan to make it more of a “How-To” guide to making personal changes. If you are looking for some information to get started making a change or if you are looking for the science behind making new year resolutions stick then you will find this a great read.
Book Review Of "Change Your Habits - Change Your Life"
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