Change Happens : When to Try Harder and When to Stop Trying So Hard

Most of us are unsure when to try harder to bring about change in our lives and when it is best to stop trying so hard. For example, if you have been trying to lose weight and get in shape for years, should you hire a trainer to push yourself to try harder, or will you keep failing until you understand more about your own internal resistance? Trying harder is the "All-American" approach. Whether it's dating, dieting, or dealing with a job crisis, we like to believe that we can change just about anything if we are only willing to work hard enough. Not trying so hard is counter-intuitive; it may even seem like laziness or a lack of will power to stop trying so hard. Nonetheless, there are times when trying harder is the definition of insanity; doing the same thing over and over again and expecting something different to happen. So how does one know when it is better to try harder or when to stop trying so hard? Extensive psychological research makes it clear that neither of these approaches used alone is as effective as learning how to integrate the two together. Action without insight frequently leads to disappointment.Change Happens successfully articulates common experiences that we rarely put into words, shows how the process of change looks in the lives of real people, and gives examples and illustrations of different kinds of situations to help readers identify and apply the insight to their own lives. Weiss brings together some of the most compelling contemporary psychological thinking on the process of change and shows how these insights play out and help transform the lives of real people.