And now, for a book review!
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Something so many of us are unaware of is our habits and how they are shaping our lives. In "Better Than Before", Gretchen Rubin challenges us to identify our habits, and alter the ones that are not helping us live our best lives.
As someone who is obsessed with personal growth, and with challenging myself to remove and restructure anything that isn't helping me become the person I know I was born to be, this book lit my eyes up like a firework on the fourth of July. Habits? Change? Growth? Living better?! I was so in.
Ms. Rubin calls us first to identify ourselves as one of four "types" she lays out as Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels (for the record, I'm a blend of Rebel and Questioner). Using this information, she helps us understand how we work and how to begin making new choices, having new conversations (both in our heads and with others), and living fuller, happier lives. She also uses the tactic of "me too" by sharing personal struggles and triumphs, along with anecdotal stories that help examples come alive.
While I loved this book, and was strongly drawn to the design, I had the same experience with this as I did with her first book, The Happiness Project. I found myself getting a little distracted and feeling like sections were slightly being stretched out, and putting both books down for awhile before picking that up again. That being said, I ultimately went back to both and am glad I did.
Anytime someone wants to grow and change for the better, it should be applauded and supported. In this book, Gretchen Rubin does both, along with providing strategies to make those changes and create better habits to be, well, better than before.
I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions!
