A QUICK LOOK AT A BOOK: The Kindness Method
Have you been trying to make a change only to find that your resolve quickly fizzles out? You're not alone - we all have the best intentions but sometimes fail at following through.
This week – I am reading the Kindness Method. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to make lasting changes.
Recognised as an expert in addiction recovery, Shahroo Izadi has helped countless individuals transform their lives.
In the book, she provides practical exercises to help you acquire the skills needed to create and maintain long-term change.
She states that there is one crucial element that you may be overlooking in your efforts to make a lasting change: self-compassion. By cultivating self-compassion, individuals can develop a deeper understanding of themselves and their needs, which can lead to making positive changes that will last!
Shahroo suggests we need to be kinder to ourselves – ensuring that the change process is free from judgement, acknowledges our strengths and accomplishments and is informed by our previous successes and failures and the thoughts and habits that may help us or hold us back.
One of the first activities she suggests is to write yourself a letter as a reminder of why you want to change and why this journey is so important to you. She includes some very helpful prompts for this, which encourage deep reflection on what life will be once you reach success, as well as all the reasons why transformation matters so much to you now.
If your motivation starts to waiver, the letter will help to encourage you and remind you of how strong-minded and determined you can be and why this change is so important.
It’s a great book and well worth spending time investing in the activities.
“A game-changing book about habits and beliefs that focuses on boosting our self-esteem and resilience rather than demonising ourselves or our behaviours. And we can use it to change any unwanted behaviour, from struggling with prescription drugs to procrastinating to drinking too much prosecco.” - Evening Standard
“This book is wonderful. Kindness is king. Kindness is key.” - Eoin Colfer, bestselling author of the Artemis Fowl series
