Even if you haven’t read this blog for very long, you probably can tell that I love goals. They excite and energize me and the practice of setting them monthly has really changed my life for the better. So you can imagine my excitement when I was given the opportunity to read and review Gretchen Rubin’s latest book, Better than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives!
The premise of the book is that we can create and then use habits to ignite positive change in our everyday lives. Rubin believes that we have the ability to modify less desirable behaviors (like eating junk food, not exercising, clutter, etc) and then turn them into actions that become as rote and routine as brushing your teeth.
In order to know which strategies will best work to accomplish that goal, Rubin starts with the descriptions of what she considers four main tendencies: Upholder, Questioner, Obliger and Rebel. (You can find out where you fit by taking the quiz here.) Just as many people learn differently, we also use different strategies when it comes to habit building. (So what may work for me as an Upholder might not for you as a Rebel.) Rubin believes that this self-knowledge can be the key to being more successful in the habits we wish to create.
The book is packed full of strategies and anecdotes, but here are just a few things I found thought-provoking:
+ I really enjoyed the section on distinctions, which helped me discover things about myself that I’ve never really taken the time to address. For example, it turns out that I am a Lark. I don’t mind waking up around 6:00 and I tend to do my best, most focused work in that early morning time frame. My other distinctions: I’m an underbuyer (I call myself cheap, but underbuyer sounds better), a simplicity lover (I’m always decluttering), a finisher (I will keep a tube of toothpaste until I get every.last.drop) and am promotion-focused (hello gold stars!).
+ When it comes to dieting or eating healthier, are you an Abstainer or a Moderator? I was surprised to realize that I’m an Abstainer. As Rubin writes, “…if I try to be moderate, I exhaust myself debating: How much can I have? Does this time ‘count’? If I had it yesterday, can I have it today?” This played itself out in real time during my Whole30 this summer. While the idea sounds extreme and miserable, I actually found freedom in knowing exactly what I could and couldn’t eat. I didn’t have to mentally debate whether I should have one or two pieces of bread – I just couldn’t have bread.
+ I was really inspired by the section about starting. The takeaway: just start. Not tomorrow and not when the time is right. Today is just as good a time as ever to begin. I tend to like neat beginnings, like goals that start on January 1st or beginning something new only on Mondays, so this was tricky for me. I put it in practice by starting T25 on a Tuesday and launching my 100 Little Things project in the middle of summer.
I enjoyed Better Than Before and I think I have gained a greater understanding of myself, both in strengths and weaknesses.
Have you read this one? What did you think?
