Small Move, Big Change: Using Microresolutions to Transform Your Life Permanently

I almost returned Caroline L. Arnold's Small Move, Big Change: Using Microresolutions to Transform Your Life Permanently to the library unread. I'd taken out a few self-help books around the same time that were all along the same lines (transforming your life for the better), read a bit, then ultimately sent them back. But something stopped me with Small Move, Big Change. And whatever it was, I'm glad it did!

Small Move, Big Change is all about transforming your life by slowly changing your habits. A lot of your behaviour runs on autopilot, or through habit, as Arnold explains. So when you try to make a big sweeping change, you run up against that autopilot, eventually succumbing back to those habits you always use (this is specifically due to the limited amount of energy your willpower and decision making capability have per day; each time you decide to do something counter to these auto-behaviours, you use some of your will power up until you have nothing left). By targeting small, select behaviours with microresolutions (small resolutions that have instant gratification because they are so small, it's much easier to follow through with them), you can, over time, change your habits by making new ones, which in turn will change your life.

I felt like a lot of this idea was also in Atomic Habits (though this book predates Atomic Habits, so maybe Clear got some ideas from Arnold?) But I really liked how Arnold packaged this. The first part of the book explains the whole process of setting microresolutions, and the rest of the book shows examples in action in different parts of your life (sleep, fitness, diet/nutrition, clutter, relationships, spendig, punctuality, and organization). You honestly don't even really need to read the second part of the book, as you get everything you need from the first part. But there are some interesting ideas based off of examples from the author's life (and from some of her clients and friends). I honestly already started a couple in my own life as I was reading this book (and believe me, as you read it, you get so many ideas for things you can try, it's very hard to limit yourself to the two that Arnold recommends at a time!)

While I was reading Small Move, Big Change, I was honestly struck by how Arnold's method felt like the missing piece in my own attempts at self-improvement and goal setting. I was very impressed with the microresolution method, and I hope it helps me in my own life!