Book review: Make change that lasts
Make Change that Lasts is a book to help you become an expert in you - by choosing to respond over reacting. It explores why our outlook and reactions to life impact our health and happiness - wise words worth reading.
We all have things we rely on going our way:
Our partner waking up in a good mood
No traffic on the way to work
No queues at the supermarket.
No rain on your day off.
But what happens when things don’t work out that way:
A trip to the cupboard for snacks.
Scrolling on social media.
A few beers or a couple of glasses of wine after a stressful day.
Make Change that Lasts reveals the hidden ways day to day life both cause these responses--and shows you how to respond to them consciously through:
Hearing, understanding and trusting the music of our own bodies
Letting go of hero worship
Embracing discomfort
Learning to take less offense
Expecting adversity
Accepting that you are not your past
Decoupling busyness from success
Giving more than you get
When we’re aware of our internal reliance’s we can respond to changes in our life effortlessly: ‘Effortless change is the best change of all. It's change that is automatic because it has become part of you.'
I particularly love the author’s explanation between a thermostat and a thermometer. Many of us are brilliantly effective thermometers, knowing everything there is to know about the harm caused by the overconsumption of sugar for instance. Our 'outsight' - the ability to look out into the world and read its information - allows excellent outsight on how to make a judgement on how well, or how badly, we’re doing. However, we lack the power to actually change anything. And for that, we have to become a thermostat, with both outsight but also insight. A thermostat has the knowledge and the power that enables it to change what it needs to change to achieve its ideal temperature.
Oh last note to self (May 2025): chapter 1 - trust yourself, chapter 4 - embrace discomfort, chapter 9 - give more than you get.
