4.5 Hoots

Book 4 of the New Years resolution series is focused on utilizing skills to help you to succeed making the changes you want to make. It is easy to say “I want to lose weight to feel better” but that only gets you so far…which is why many resolutions fail. In order to succeed you really need to connect to the real reason you want to make changes. This book takes it a step further and even tells you where to find he worksheets to go along with this book. It really was a refreshing take on how to succeed.

The first thing that stood out to me was that the author actually shared her own struggles with her weight, and how her divorce really affected her. She shared how she used to be very thin but then her body decided to follow a different path. That was neat because it really did help the reader connect with her in a way that makes you feel okay about not always succeeding. Another thing that stood out was that the author even tells you to read a chapter a week. This way you had time to really work on the topic of that chapter. If you make a change a week and print the worksheets from the website, you are basically getting a blueprint for success.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. There were some things that she discussed that really stuck with me. For example, she talks about intrusive thoughts when you are trying to meditate or relax….she says to acknowledge the thought and the imagine putting it on a leaf, setting it on the river, and letting it float away. You have no idea on how many times I have used this trick! My brain does this thing where it decides that it randomly wants to remember a time 5 years ago when I felt totally embarrassed and ya know…it wants me to relive it because hey why not. So now I try to acknowledge it, put it on a leaf, and watch that puppy go down the imaginary stream. This is extremely helpful….seriously! Another thing I took away is that there is much more to making changes than I expected. It isn’t enough to say I want to lose weight or eat better, you need a real reason to push you.

If you are trying to make changes and are struggling with how to get started, this is seriously the book for you. It teaches you how to slowly make positive changes without feeling overwhelmed or like you are being judged. It gives you permission to retry chapters you struggled with and helps you identify areas that you might not realized that you struggled with. It really does help you figure out what works for you and helps give you some tools to overcome some of your struggles. This was a really good read.