Member Reviews

This was an easy-to-read self-help book on achieving your goals. The authors share how to break goals down into manageable tasks and avoid overwhelm. Helpful!

Was this review helpful?

The Power of Small Making Tiny Changes When Everything Feels Too Much by Aisling Leonard-Curtin and Trish Leonard-Curtin

365 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Essentials
Release Date: July 28, 2020

Nonfiction, Self-Help, Spirituality, Self-Improvement, Motivational

The book is divided into the following parts

Part One: The Comfort Trap
Part Two: From the Inside Out
Part Three: The Power of a Small Toolkit
Part Four: Make the Power of Small a Way of Life

Many times, events or people seem too big to handle. This book addresses this issue and shows you it is possible to face anything in small portions. Just like the saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” The authors break each part down into smaller topics that are easier to handle and address. This not only includes mental and emotional issues but physical issues. I love this idea of small. Everyone is always looking for big but, it is best to handle things small. If you are looking for a motivational book, this might just be the one for you.

Was this review helpful?

A practical and compassionate self help book that guides the reader through important concepts and processes.

Was this review helpful?

This is a very helpful book on how to break down your giant goals into small manageable pieces that won't overwhelm you. I found this book very helpful and is something that I will definitely be going back to again and again.

Was this review helpful?

Very practical with lovely ideas. It would work best as an actual book rather than a digital copy based on all the exercises given. Useful techniques with real-world examples. Grab a journal and change your life!

Was this review helpful?

Great book, shows a plethora tips and insights on starting small and ending big in life, would highly recommend, Can't wait for more books from this author.

Was this review helpful?

A great self-help book. one I would recommend it to others.

As someone who is on a life journey to be a better me, I find books like this to be a great learning tool.

Was this review helpful?

The book The Power of Small is a good read & I think that it will appeal to a wide variety of people who are interested in small, psychology-based, & habit based tips to improve their lives. It talks about psychological tactics that lead us to inflexibility & then the tactics that allow us to practice flexibility. The book is full of tips & ideas with some background of case studies that give examples of other people. It’s like a toolbox that can help you to not necessarily get rid of harsh thoughts but rather it helps you to reframe them so you’re easier on yourself. I really liked it! Thank you to NetGalley for the complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I found the small steps for making changes in your life interesting, and some were helpful. What I got bogged down in were the case histories. I am familiar with mindfulness, and the concept of watching your thoughts as though they were leaves floating down the stream. I was happy to see this concept introduced in the book, it would have been great if it was expanded on more, The concept of using and instead of but was also great,
Helpful book, parts were a bit slow. Best read in small bites.

Was this review helpful?

I found The Power of Small to be well written and thought provoking. This book is a reminder that taking small tiny steps each day can make big changes that will last. I like how the book gave you practical advice to implement the small steps.

Was this review helpful?

I highly recommend this book to everyone.! If you are looking for something to help you organize your thoughts, feelings, or life situations this is the book for you. It is very interactive. Prepare for a small bit of mind work at the end of every chapter. The authors do an amazing job of walking you through simple task that help you to look deeper into why and how you do things. Definitely buying this for gifts for many of my friends and family.

Was this review helpful?

A really relatable self-help book. It can be really easy to go for big changes and become overwhelmed so having the tools to chunk the big changes into smaller ones is useful.

Was this review helpful?

The Power of Small was well written and engaging. While the message is not new, the content was delivered with a smooth writing style.

Recommended for readers of The Atomic Habit.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed this book very much. I have been working with a coach over the last couple of years who strongly emphasizes self-care and I feel like the philosophy in this book aligns with that well. I loved the concept of determining your values then identifying “toward moves” and “away moves” to figure out whether something aligns with your values. The book is kind of long and it’s a lot of information, but I like that it has actionable steps. Ultimately, that is the true test of a “self-help” book - is it something that is easy to actually implement in your life? I think there is a lot in this book that can be easily implemented.

Was this review helpful?

This book intends for you to break things down into small, manageable steps so you can achieve lasting change, rather than quick fixes. I think the description led me to think the book was about multiple small changes a person could make, but rather it is really focused on a bunch of small steps to take to make a huge change. As you read the book, you are to work on small chapters each day and write in a Daily Steps journal/diary. There is a lot of background info and case studies in here, and I don't feel the book works as well if you don't actually go through it slowly and do the journal and then build on what you have done. Some of the chapters/days I struggled to see the differentiations. It feels to me like this method, if followed as intended, would take so long as to irritate me. I would rather have a longer chapter/more significant step or combo of steps.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Getting this this book is a life time investment. I like the premise. We want a big change – all at once. We get going then crash and burn. The authors suggest small steps are the answer. These are manageable steps taking 5-10 minutes a day.

There is a great deal of information this this book on a variety of personal issues. One of my favorites was preventing end of life regret. A practical suggestion is to connect with what is important to us on a daily basis, even if it is only for a few moments. (Loc 1526/3137) Something else I like is the emphasis on writing, such as daily journaling.

And you'll need a journal. This is not only a book to read. It is a book to work through with tons of questions to answer and practical strategies to consider. A variety of suggestions are presented to help work through personal issues. They might be small shifts in perspectives or habits. They might be questions to work through to help take small steps toward a better self

I am glad the authors are realistic as well as practical. They note that some of these strategic practices might make us feel worse before we feel better. They point out that if all this growth felt good, there would be no need for counselors and self-help books. (Loc 2113/3137)

I highly recommend this book. Grab a notebook and get to work. This is not a book about why small steps work. It is rather a book to help you identify the small steps you need to take to be the best you. I think you will be impressed with the suggested practical steps to take from clarifying your values to changing your thinking.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I thought this book was excellent and have already recommended it to a few friends! It is broken up into manageable sections for reading - if you only have 5 minutes at a time to get through the book and lots of good exercises and mindsets that would likely benefit anyone - not just for people feeling overwhelmed.

Was this review helpful?

Small steps built on over time can lead to transformation, say the psychologist co-authors of THE POWER OF SMALL. The concept fits with the current trend of simplicity: Small houses, 10-item capsule wardrobes, wee cars.

The authors show how to take tiny actionable steps with self-care, offering exercises for practice and examples for inspiration. I realize I’m using this same tactic with my new FitBit. The device prompts me to walk just 250 steps each hour, and already I’ve lost five pounds! I’ve seen how small changes work and highly recommend THE POWER OF SMALL for others wanting to ease into better lives.

5 of 5 Stars

Pub Date 28 Jul 2020

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#ThePowerofSmall #NetGalley

Was this review helpful?

If there is ever a time when everything feels too much, it's now, with the world experiencing a global pandemic! Though this book is not written with that in mind, it seeks to help readers recognize the myriad of ways we keep ourselves "stuck" where we don't want to be or where we're not getting the most out of our lives. It offers a wide variety of situations and suggested small steps that can make a huge difference. Sometimes it's the littlest change that turns the tide.

I found the book easy to read, relatable, and practical. It is almost a sure bet that there is something in this book that will speak to you and help you in some way. This is a book that can be read time and again with new benefits, as your perspective and life changes.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Essential for allowing me to read a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions stated are my own.

Was this review helpful?

this was a powerful read that gave a lot of incite. I tend to look back at my notes whenever i need a reminder that the small things in life should not be neglected and have a bigger purpose. Very much enjoyed this one.

Was this review helpful?