Better Than Before

How to Make and Break Habits - and Build a Happier Life

De: Gretchen Rubin

Narrado por: Gretchen Rubin

***NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER***

The author of The Happiness Project and "a force for real change" (Brené Brown) examines how changing our habits can change our lives.

"A LOT OF US WOULD LIKE A RUBIN IN OUR LIVES" The Times
"FASCINATING, PERSUASIVE" Guardian

Most of us have a habit we'd like to change, and there's no shortage of expert advice. But as we all know from tough experience, no magic, one-size-fits-all solution exists. It takes work to make a habit, but once that habit is set, we can harness the energy of habits to build happier, stronger, more productive lives.

In Better Than Before, acclaimed writer Gretchen Rubin identifies every approach that actually works. She presents a practical, concrete framework to allow listeners to understand their habits - and to change them for good.

Infused with Rubin's compelling voice, rigorous research, and easy humour, and packed with vivid stories of lives transformed, Better Than Before explains the (sometimes counterintuitive) core principles of habit formation and answers the most perplexing questions about habits:

* Why do we find it tough to create a habit for something we love to do?
* How can we keep our healthy habits when we're surrounded by temptations?
* How can we help someone else change a habit?

Rubin reveals the true secret to habit change: first, we must know ourselves. When we shape our habits to suit ourselves, we can find success - even if we've failed before.

Whether you want to eat more healthfully, stop checking devices, or finish a project, the invaluable ideas in Better Than Before will start you working on your own habits - even before you've finished the book.

©2015 Gretchen Rubin (P)2015 John Murray Press

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Do you have a bad habit you're trying to shake, or a good one you wish you could cultivate? Gretchen Rubin is one of the most charming and erudite authors of her generation. Here, she uses her gifts to help you eat right, sleep well, stop procrastinating and start enjoying all that life has to offer." (Susan Cain, best-selling author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking)

"Filled with insights about our patterns of behavior, Better Than Before addresses one of life's big and timeless questions: How can we transform ourselves? In a way that's thought-provoking, surprising and often funny, Gretchen Rubin provides us with the tools to build a life that truly reflects our goals and values." (Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post and best-selling author of Thrive)

"Gretchen Rubin combines deep research and observations from her own life to explain how habits emerge and - more important - how they can change. It's indispensable for anyone hoping to overhaul how they (almost unthinkingly) behave." (Charles Duhigg, bestselling author of The Power of Habit)

"Gretchen Rubin is a writer after my own heart - seriously brilliant, very warm, and funny. I think she's amazing." (Anne Lamott)

Useful, but flawed

What did you like best about Better Than Before? What did you like least?

Best parts where the actual useful classifications and concepts.
The main issue I had was the way the concepts were elaborated upon.

Did Better Than Before inspire you to do anything?

Yes. It got me going with a habit or two I've wanted to start for a while, but couldn't bring myself to start due to previous failures.

Any additional comments?

Insightful and smart, but written for a different audience to myself.
The author managed to pick up the intricacies of habit formation, but the way they're explained made me grind my teeth sometimes. I understand the thinking of trying to explain concepts using personal experience and anecdotes, but it gets tiring when it's done constantly and in such a "holier than though" manner. I really wanted to rate this better, since I did learn quite a bit and it definitely made me think, but ultimately it is a book, so spending a fair few hours rolling your eyes and clenching your jaw does gets very tiring.

Excellent book..!!

Where does Better Than Before rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is the very good book, best part about listening this is book is treat to listen Gretchen for 9 hours.. Good thing happened to be was, I started listening to her podcast much before I bought this book. so I was quite familiar with her voice and listening this book in her own voice was hell lot interesting . Book gave me good insight about knowing self .

What did you like best about this story?

Parts about different kinds of people. I found out that I'm an obliger.

What does Gretchen Rubin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her voice :-)

It's personal

I find Gretchen's thoughts and life philosophies interesting and relevant. I thought this book was much more of her own unscientific and unproven thoughts and ideas comparing it to "The Happiness Project" which was more about testing popular science recommendations. Still she sees things in a useful and thought provoking way and I enjoyed hearing her theories (I am a questioner)

Starts out ok, gets worse

I initially found this book quite hard to get through, as the writing is so self absorbed and tedious, however I did find some good thoughts so I persisted. As the book continues, it devolves into the author talking about her life and opinions in such an unbalanced and unresearched way that it feels like you're talking to a young mother turned life coach.

I swear I learnt more about the authors daughter's diabetes and how good the author is at keeping habits than I did actually learn about habits.