Book Review: Better Than Before

I have this urge to read all the books I can get my hands on! I have been making a list of books I want to read, specifically concentrating on diversifying my selections.  I put some books on hold at the library, and they all came in at once! So I have 6 books to get through in the next two weeks! We shall see how that goes.

I am starting with Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin.

This is a book all about habits.  Good habits, bad habits, how to form them, how to drop them.  The first chapter poses the question "If habits make it possible for us to change, how exactly, then, do we shape our habits?" (pg. 10).  Rubin began pondering the subject of habits and how good ones make us happier.  Why do they make us happier? "...I concluded that the real key to habits is decision making- or, more accurately, the lack of decision making" (pg 5, original emphasis).  We are faced with literally hundreds of decisions per day.  What clothes to wear, what to eat for breakfast, which route to take to work, which project to tackle first, whether to bring lunch or eat out, what to do when you get home, etc.  If you make some of those decisions into habits, it eliminates the need for decision making.  You make a decision once, then repeat.  Your mind is clear to focus on other things, instead of that one decision.

Now, not all habits are good.  There are not so good habits.  I believe Rubin delves into how to get rid of bad ones and cultivate new ones.

I am excited to read this book.  I am looking for ways to simplify my life, so that I can enjoy the season I am in and really be present and spend time with those around me.

I will be posting a few times as I read, letting you know what I think.  Just from this first chapter, I think it will be an interesting read!

Check out this book on Amazon, or at your local library.

  

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