Always Change a Losing Game

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Under the headings of awareness, choice, and permission, Posen leads the
reader along the path from victim of circumstances to taking control of
his or her own life. As in so many “fix yourself” books, sports
analogies are used to carry the message. (Will you-can-do-it authors
never tire of citing Babe Ruth’s failure rate?)

Posen’s message that you, too, can change for the better concentrates
on lifestyle changes: smoking, diet, sleep, recreation. He doesn’t
promise instant success in business or marriage but rather lays out some
thoughts on how to achieve the small day-to-day changes that increase
self-esteem; break negative habits; and lead to less-stressful
relationships, a healthier body, and a more accepting attitude.

The work is refreshing among self-help books in that the approach is
calm and rational without table-thumping overtones. The benefits
promised are small, incremental changes, and Posen uses lots of examples
from his counseling practice to demonstrate that such changes are easily
attainable by ordinary people.

His style is relaxed and he doesn’t attempt to bully the reader into
either confessing guilt or diving head-first into an all-or-nothing
make-over. As a result, the book is not as dramatically inspirational as
some of its competitors. To offset this, the quieter approach puts
staying power to work in its favor.