Latest news with #AtomicHabits'
Chicago Tribune
18-07-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Ranju Kunwor: Are self-help books really helping us?
If you're a reader, and you're on Instagram, chances are the algorithm has fed you posts promising that 'this book will change your life' or touting 'five books that made me successful.' These claims are compelling. They make me pause and ask a deeper question: Are self-help books really helping us? I'll say this up front: One book cannot change your life. One self-help book will not transform your mindset, your habits or your emotional health, but the habit of reading might. I recently read 'The Mountain Is You' by Brianna Wiest. It's a popular title in the self-help space — concise, digestible and motivational. It reads like the TikTok version of a self-help book: short chapters, compact insights and neatly packaged advice on how we sabotage ourselves. But it lacks depth and doesn't provoke critical thought. It offers little in the way of evidence-based guidance, psychological analysis or room for ambiguity. In our fast-paced world, readers want quick fixes and digestible answers. But philosophy, healing, and self-understanding cannot be condensed into bite-sized commands. A book that tells you what to do and insists you are the problem risks flattening the complexity of the human experience. I do believe mindset matters. Optimism, when grounded in reality, can be powerful. But self-help culture tends to treat optimism like a cure-all as if every problem is just a thought pattern waiting to be reversed. Sometimes, realism is what we need. Sometimes, we don't need affirmation; we need analysis. Here are some of the problems with self-help books: Some books in this genre, however, are truly valuable. One example is 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear, and it is good because it provides structured approaches to behavioral change, not just motivation. Creating a way of life that suits you the best, that gets the best out of you, helps you live your purpose, is an ever-changing process. Change needs more thought, deeper thoughts, than a book just telling you what to do. So, if you really want to improve your life, question your purpose, develop a way of thinking, broaden your perspective or even improve your habits in general, I suggest reading philosophy books. Philosophy books are more elaborate and thought-provoking version of these modern self-help books. My suggestions? Read to learn and have fun. Read as a hobby and as a way of living, not just to improve yourself. Do not read thinking that a book will change your life. Read books that challenge you, not just ones that affirm you. If you truly want to grow, don't just read self-help books. Read philosophy. Read psychology. Read fiction. Read anything that expands your thinking and deepens your empathy. Build real-life connections. Be with genuine people, who are genuinely positive and striving for success (if not successful) — those ambitious people who lift you up. If you read self-help, let it be a supplement, not a substitute for therapy, mentorship or systemic change. Be skeptical of any book that implies you alone are the problem or you alone are the solution. Live authentically! Authentic living with integrity is happiness. Self-improvement is a noble pursuit. But make sure you are not living someone else's ideals. You define your goal; you go at your own pace. We are all trying to get better, learn, evolve, be the best version of ourselves and connect with each other. We are all similar: We all have moments when we feel inadequate, and we are all in this together. If things feel fast-paced, like you need to constantly improve, if you feel like you cannot catch up, maybe slowing down is what you need. And maybe you can slow down by reading meaningful books, or novels that you enjoy, and not a self-help book. One book won't change our life, but the habit of reading might.
New Indian Express
21-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
‘Your good show fills me with pride': Nara Lokesh tells SSC toppers
VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh's education system is undergoing a transformative overhaul, drawing nationwide attention, declared HRD, IT and Electronics Minister Nara Lokesh on Tuesday. Speaking at the 'Shining Stars' event at his Undavalli residence, he felicitated 47 government school students who secured top ranks in the recent Class X examinations. Each student received a shawl, a medal, and a hamper containing nine inspirational books, including 'Wings of Fire' by APJ Abdul Kalam, 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear, and 'Ratan Tata: A Life' by Thomas Mathew, aimed at fuelling their ambition. 'Your achievements fill me with pride,' Lokesh told the students. 'Despite economic hardships, you've brought honour to your parents. Emulate Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu's relentless dedication to public service and pursue your goals with unwavering resolve.' He vowed to position AP's education model as a national benchmark, ensuring government schools rival private institutions. Starting next year, top government school results will be showcased in newspaper advertisements, a practice typically reserved for private schools, he announced. He shared a personal anecdote to inspire resilience, saying, 'I chose Mangalagiri, a constituency Telugu Desam hadn't won since 1984, for my political debut. After losing in 2019, I worked tirelessly for five years, securing one of the State's top three majorities in 2024.' He emphasised, 'There's no substitute for hard work—students must remember this.' Despite formidable challenges, educational reforms are progressing, Lokesh said. Reforms include full fee reimbursement for higher education, postgraduate fee support, and strengthened government junior colleges, which have already yielded stellar Class 10 results. He prioritised girls' education during his Yuvagalam Padayatra, a commitment reflected in new gender-balanced textbook illustrations. 'By June, we'll complete these reforms, making public schools a source of pride,' he said. He hailed the students as 'brand ambassadors' for boosting public trust in government education. Education Secretary Kona Sas hidhar called education 'a powerful weapon to escape poverty,' urging students to aim for greatness like Sundar Pichai or Sunita Williams. 'Your victories, especially from remote areas, will inspire future batches,' he said.
Boston Globe
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
‘It's what he was made for': Alex Bregman's meticulous, obsessive approach has resonated with the Red Sox.
'They never asked me to do anything,' said Bregman. 'They just told me if I wanted to do anything, I better work — work for it every day.' The message took, and resonates decades later in a way that has astonished members of the Red Sox. On the morning of 1:35 p.m. day games, players often drift into the clubhouse between 10 and 11 a.m. and ease into pregame schedules. There's plenty of downtime in gym shorts on days without scheduled on-field batting practice. Advertisement Before a recent contest, however, Bregman — already in his uniform pants — concluded a meeting with Red Sox hitting coaches and analysts at 10 a.m. prior to jumping into a batting cage. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'He was probably wearing batting gloves [in the meeting],' joked assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson. 'There's probably text messages or phone calls that even happened before that [meeting]. There's definitely ones that happen after the games, on the road, on the off-days. 'This is what he does. It's what he was made for. It's always on his mind and I think somehow, some way, he's good with that,' added Lawson. 'In my Rolodex, he's one of a kind.' More than an hour after that same day game — a Sox win — Bregman remained in his dirt-covered uniform pants, sitting at his locker. Teammate after teammate — many of them pausing for a visit after they'd gotten dressed and were on their way out of the clubhouse — approached him in what looked like a teacher's office hours. Advertisement Bregman, armed with an iPad, digested at-bats, pitches, and plays. He talked about approaches, mechanics, mind-sets — seeking and giving feedback to hitters, pitchers, and anyone else. 'I just think he has this nature to connect to people, whether it's catchers, pitching staff, hitters, the cook,' said Sox hitting coach Pete Fatse. Bregman is, of course, off to a phenomenal start. Typically a slow starter who gains steam as the season progresses (.817 career OPS before the All-Star break, .906 after it), he entered Saturday with the highest average (.309), OBP (.389), slugging percentage (.579), and OPS (.968) of his career through 45 games. His 11 homers are the second most of his career (behind only the 14 he hit through 45 contests in 2019, when MLB balls behaved like golf balls), and his 26 extra-base hits are his most ever. His in-game impact has been immense. Yet Bregman is less focused on those numbers than on the before-and-after of games, ultimately believing the behind-the-scenes activity is what funnels into results. In prior seasons, he'd been goal- and outcome-focused, basing his view of success on whether he went 2 for 4 or reached certain benchmarks in his back-of-the-baseball-card numbers. This season, Bregman has reoriented his view. He recently picked up the book 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear ('I needed to read a book — I literally was just like, I haven't read a book since I don't even know when,' he said), and connected with the message of focusing on stacking habit changes to achieve impact rather than chasing bottom-line goals. Advertisement Bregman talks of 'falling in love with the work before the game' and then allowing himself to treat the game itself as the reward for everything he does over the rest of his day. 'I've always loved working and the game. I always have. It's always been the most fun thing in the world, just working at the game of baseball. I've always been super-passionate about it,' he said. 'But I feel like putting more emphasis on the importance of the work as opposed to putting more emphasis on the results of the game. 'It's easy to get caught up in the numbers that you're putting up, but I feel like the best points of my career, the thing I've been focused on has always been the process of what I'm doing before the game in the cage, how I'm working on my swing mechanics, how I'm working on controlling the strike zone, or how I'm working on preparing to face a pitcher,' he added. 'As opposed to going out there and worrying so much about the results you feel from Day One, let's worry about just executing the swing in the cage and working on the process in the cage. And it's been a good start. There's a long way to go, a lot of season left, and want to continue to improve.' That approach has been fascinating and sometimes amusing to teammates. There have been days when Bregman has been hitless but has found reason to take satisfaction in how he's approached his preparation. There have been days when Bregman has collected multiple hits but felt that his swing was imprecise, inspiring a round of self-criticism and batting cage engineering to fine-tune. Advertisement 'His attention to detail is so refined. One day he went 2 for 4, and he showed up the next day. It was like, 'My swing's messed up,' ' recounted Story. 'He knows that if he's going to move the right way, that's what's going to play over the season. He's very, very, very detail-oriented with that. If it's not how he wants it to feel, then he's not buying into [results].' It is one thing for a player to go down the rabbit hole of his own swing and work. For instance, there are similarities between Bregman's meticulousness with his own swing and that of J.D. Martinez. But members of the Sox have been fascinated to witness Bregman's Pedroia-esque interest in his teammates — and in trying to push them to chase high standards. 'He challenges everyone to never really turn it off,' said outfielder Rob Refsnyder. 'When we grab dinners, he's constantly talking about the next game, the next pitcher, defense, base running. He's the ultimate baseball guy, and he never turns it off. He really doesn't. Every conversation circles back to winning the next game, winning the next at-bat. It's truly special. 'I know for a fact he's made some of our younger players better [be] hungry, and [helped them] understand this is what greatness is,' he added. 'I'm sure those guys have learned a lot from him, because I'm 34 and I've learned a lot from him already.' Advertisement Of course, the purpose of that advice — as well as Bregman's work — is ultimately to contribute to victories. Those haven't come in a way that the Red Sox had hoped to this point. The team entered Saturday with a 22-24 record. But Bregman remains optimistic that a sound approach will ultimately allow the team to start getting the results it expects — and that there's a simple formula to improving. 'I just want to prepare at an elite level and win,' he said. 'I want to win, and I know that if we get the best out of everyone, we'll win a lot of games.' Alex Speier can be reached at
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jordi Fernandez on Nets' offseason plans: ‘You can only control what you can control, and right now that's what we know for sure'
Jordi Fernandez on Nets' offseason plans: 'You can only control what you can control, and right now that's what we know for sure' The mantra the Nets have followed this season is 'getting one percent better each day'. For those interested in learning more about it, it's a concept highlighted in the book 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear. By that logic, Jordi Fernandez should've gotten at least 79% better this season, given the Nets just completed their 79th regular-season game Tuesday night, a 119-114 defeat of the New Orleans Pelicans at Barclays Center. Advertisement It's tough for the first-year head coach to calculate how much he's grown since being hired last summer. He understands perfection is an unrealistic expectation, and there have been plenty of ups and downs sprinkled throughout this 26-53 campaign. But even through the struggles, his fellow coaches and Brooklyn's front office continue to practice grace. And organizational support matters, especially in the midst of a rebuild. 'That's what I care about most,' Fernandez said. 'And I believe I'm a different coach than I was Day 1 because I've learned every single day, and I believe all these steps will just make me better, so I'm looking forward to continuing to grow through the summer and excited about what's coming.' The Nets have an extremely important summer on the horizon. The NBA Draft lottery is on May 12 and the draft itself is on June 25. Unlike last year, Brooklyn owns its first-round pick in a loaded draft class. Its picks are currently projected to be No. 6 overall, No. 18, No. 26 and No. 27 — and it also owns a second-round pick. 'We're not going to know where the lottery is going to fall because that's part of the odds and so forth,' Fernandez said. 'So, you can only control what you can control, and right now that's what we know for sure.' Advertisement Whether all those picks are used remains to be seen, but Brooklyn's roster will look much different in 2025-26 either way. The team also has four restricted free agents in Ziaire Williams, Cam Thomas, Day'Ron Sharpe and Reece Beekman to decide on, as well as two unrestricted free agents in D'Angelo Russell and Trendon Watford. Drafted rookies will need development. And whoever sticks around will have to find ways to perform better than they did in 2024-25. 'We'll structure a summer where the guys are going to do a great job developing and getting better,' Fernandez said. 'We're going to put in place everything they need to continue to work and get better. We have an important summer league with a lot of the guys who will likely get drafted. But the best thing is, we're in a very good situation, from flexibility to assets to the big, great market we have here. So, it's just getting one percent better each day.' Until then, the Nets still have three regular-season games left against the Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Knicks. Brooklyn has sat its veterans down the stretch, which means young players fighting to prove they belong in the league — such as Beekman, Drew Timmie and Tyson Etienne — will continue to receive ample opportunities. Advertisement For them, there's still plenty to play for. 'I think the opportunities are extremely important, you still have a job to do,' Fernandez said. 'You have to have the right intentions and making mistakes, it's not what matters the most [nor] is it a bad thing as long as you have the right intentions. What we want to accomplish as a group, if you take the right shot and the shot doesn't go in, so be it. 'This is not the end of anything. This is not the end of the season. This is just the next game, the next game going into the most important summer of our lives, into a very important summer to train, to get better and to be able to play the next game. So, nothing stops here. Winning development, winning habits, everything continues for us and that's how we approach it.'
Associated Press
05-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
ShelfLife, Alex Strathdee Launch ‘Before The Bestseller: Your Proven Path to Book Sales Without Wasting Time & Money'
- New guide helps nonfiction authors build an audience and achieve long-term success in book sales - SAN DIEGO, Calif., March 4, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — ShelfLife ( and author Alex Strathdee today announced the release of 'Before The Bestseller: Your Proven Path to Book Sales Without Wasting Time & Money' (ISBN: 979-8890792631), the ultimate playbook for nonfiction authors seeking to boost book sales, build an audience, and create a bestseller that never stops selling. This book pulls back the curtain on how the top authors of today such as James Clear of 'Atomic Habits' sold over 20 Million copies. This comprehensive guide reveals proven paths for launching and sustaining sales, whether authors are traditionally published, hybrid, or self-published while exposing the million-dollar scam operations running rampant in the publishing world. 'It's the perfect book for sales-hungry nonfiction authors: No BS. Insider tips. Industry secrets. And plenty of case studies to make it come alive,' says Dan Heath, author of 'Reset and Upstream,' and co-author of 'Switch and Made to Stick' (1,000,000+ books sold). In 'Before The Bestseller,' readers will discover actionable strategies, real-world examples, and marketing techniques that have helped countless authors find success. Whether a writer is penning their first book or seeking new ways to reinvigorate sales, Strathdee's new release offers a blueprint for consistent, long-term sales in the nonfiction realm. To learn more or purchase the book, visit: About the Author: Alex Strathdee is an accomplished nonfiction author and the founder of with a client roster that includes Reid Hoffman, Nir Eyal, Allan Dib, Lewis Howes, Michael Bungay Stanier and many other authors who have sold over a million copies of their book. For the first time ever, the curtain is being pulled back on how bestselling books are made. With a passion for empowering fellow writers, Strathdee's mission is to share industry knowledge that helps authors succeed in today's competitive publishing landscape. Learn more: MEDIA CONTACT: Alex Strathdee Phone: 571-225-9377 IMAGE LINK for media: Caption: 'Before The Bestseller' Book Cover NEWS SOURCE: ShelfLife Keywords: Books and Publishing, author Alex Strathdee, ShelfLife, Shelf Life, Before The Bestseller, nonfiction authors, publishers weekly, book sales, sell books, SAN DIEGO, Calif. Send2Press® Newswire. Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P124459 AP-R15TBLLI
