A Review of: Better Than Before: What I learned about breaking and making habits
It’s a new year and most likely you have made a New Year’s Resolution. Did you know that only EIGHT percent of the population keeps their resolutions, and it is estimated that by February over 80% have given up their resolution? This year, instead of a resolution, consider instead making a new HABIT.
The top 7 essential changes people want to make (taken from Better Than Before):
Eat more healthy
Exercise regularly
Save, spend, earn wisely
Rest, relax, enjoy
Accomplish more
Engage more deeply in relationships
In Better Than Before, Gretchen Rubin (author of The Happiness Project) examines habits and how they are formed. The adage that it takes 21 days to form a habit is a myth. Forming a new habit takes work, but unlike resolutions, habits, when properly formed, can last a lifetime.
Gretchen points out that habits have the benefit of relieving us from making decisions and using self-control. A well-set habit actually makes us feel more in control and reduces anxiety. One of my favorite quotes from the book is, “When we change our habits, we change our lives.”
Better Than Before digs deep into why “who we are” determines how we form habits. How a person responds to outer and inner expectations determines how they approach forming a habit. Are you an Upholder, a Questioner, an Obliger, or a Rebel? Habit formation is not one size fits all. This book will help you determine which of the four tendencies you possess. Armed with this information, it becomes much easier to be successful in starting a new habit that will stick, because it fits you and your life approach.
The book continues with a toolbox of different strategies for good habit development. How do you determine the best time to start a new habit. How do you use scheduling as a tool to ensure successful habit formation. How accountability can help you keep on track. How do you avoid “tomorrow logic”. How rewards can sabotage your habit formation. What to do about temptations to “cheat”. The benefit of “If Then” strategies to avoid being derailed.
Gretchen wraps up the book with the reminder that we will not be perfect in all our habits. They may not always provide all the benefits we initially expected. We may not end up exactly where we thought we would BUT we will “get to a place that was better than before.”
I encourage you to read or listen to this book. As a PTA, I am always looking for ways to encourage my clients to develop healthy life habits that improve their overall health and keep them moving. I believe Gretchen Ruben’s book, Better Than Before, is helpful for anyone striving to start healthy habits.
Happy 2021! Let us know what new habit you decide to form!