Real Change: Moving Beyond Habits to Achieve Lasting Transformation

by Jason Hreha

#1 New Release in Behavioral Psychology

Move beyond habits. Embrace lasting transformation.

Real Change, authored by leading behavioral scientist Jason Hreha, challenges the conventional wisdom that habits are the key to profound change. This insightful book debunks popular myths around habit hacking, guiding readers towards a deeper, more meaningful form of personal growth. Hreha, a Stanford alumnus with groundbreaking contributions in behavioral science, presents an alternative to fleeting self-help the Transformative Practice Path.

In Real Change, Hreha delivers a strategic framework designed for achieving significant, high-reaching goals. His approach emphasizes a combination of strategic mindset and deliberate action, moving away from the overhyped habit-based models.

The book offers a refreshing critique of commonly held beliefs about habits and their effectiveness, illuminating why they often fall short in bringing about real transformation. With Real Change, readers gain access to practical, personalized strategies rooted in current research, paving the way for genuine, long-lasting self-improvement. Hreha's expertise in applying behavioral science to real-world challenges makes this book a valuable resource for anyone seeking meaningful and enduring change.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction

118 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 5, 2024

Reviews

[Mscout · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some decent points about breaking habits (have to replace them with new, better habits), but when the first suggestion for breaking habit triggers is to move cross-country (seriously, though he does note this is "extreme," he nonetheless spent a good chunk of text explaining why this was a good option), that just set a bad precedent.

[Janier Moreno · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fascinating book by Hreha is a work that deeply explores the mechanisms of personal and organizational change. The author delves into the psychological and neurological roots that influence our habits and behaviors, offering an innovative perspective on how to achieve sustainable transformations. Hreha argues that real change is not achieved by simply modifying superficial behaviors, but by understanding and altering the underlying structures that sustain them. Through practical examples and case studies, the book provides effective tools for identifying and overcoming internal barriers to change. It is essential reading for those seeking not only to improve their personal lives, but also to positively influence their professional and community environments. For this reason, I highly recommend it.

[Alejandro Sureda · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book, "Real Change: Moving Beyond Habits to Achieve Lasting Transformation" the author, who has scientific training in neuroscience and who has dedicated himself to behavioral science, guides us to achieve change but without magic recipes or shortcuts or tricks. In fact, Jason Hreha tells us that we must strive to achieve it, where the word perseverance is key in this proposal.
By differentiating transformative practice, which requires awareness of its implementation, versus habits, which are a reflex action, he takes us through the Transformative Practice Path, which consists of four stages to which he dedicates a large part of the book, explaining what each one is about, providing foundations with scientific studies and offering concrete proposals to carry them out, but the important thing about the proposals is that they are based on data and work carried out by specialists, which gives a solid scientific foundation to this work. They are not just nice ideas totally lacking rational support that some books present when they deal with the topic of how to make a significant change in our lives.
This work is recommended to any reader who really wants to permanently change their way of life.

[Steven Finkelstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Behavioral science can reveal much about why we do the things we do. It can also demonstrate that traditional ways of behavior that are commonly recommended for success in one’s personal life are sometimes fraudulent.

That is precisely the point of this book. The author posits that if you want to achieve your most desired goals, you might have to get away from conventional advice for how to do so. Instead, you may need to stop engaging in habit-based activities. There are other ways of behavior that look to the most modern research for inspiration. This book lays out a new strategy for achieving lasting success that uses those techniques.

What you read in these pages might very well open your eyes to some new behaviors and ways of being. If you’re ambitious and haven’t found the formula for transforming your life just yet, you would be hard pressed to find a better path forward than what this instructive guidebook proposes.

[Margarita Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book.

Sometimes, creating a habit can be challenging and may not remain in time; ''Real Change'' is a book that goes beyond creating habits. Author Jason Hreha brings us a compelling guide with advances and tips on how we can reshape your life. The author, based on his experiences, learned that you need a transformative practice that consciously challenges what you need to change in your life. This book will guide you step by step in this process making it easy for you. I found this book very interesting and found that it has a different view about habits, being different from other books that I have read before. I like the style of the author, I enjoyed reading this book.

[Caro Rey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read!

This book has definitely given me a new perspective in many things. Habits are sometimes so difficult to change or create, but after this read this I’ve learned so much about them.
The author has created an amazing book filled with all the information that anyone might need to make changes that are deeper than the physical aspect.
After a desk introspect, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are habits that I need to change in my life and this book has helped me to focus my energy and mind to make the correct habits happen.
In just a few pages the author touches important topics such as; pros and cons and hidden truths of habits, and the path to transformative practices. I highly recommend!

[Ivan M · Rating 4 out of 5]

A transformative practice is a mindful, conscious challenge you undertake to improve an area of your life."

Jason Hreha wrote this book with a clear understanding of human behavior. He shows the difference between habits and active and effective change. Habits can only take a person so far, to achieve greatness it's important to make a real commitment and set the appropriate goals, that's when the author's knowledge comes in handy.

Overall, it was an interesting read. It's a diverse way of looking at change, and I think it can be helpful. We are in constant change, but not always for the better, so I consider this book to be fundamental for those who are willing to make a real effort.

[Laura]

No nonsense and to the point advice

Real Change is a great book to read if you're ready to make changes in your life and just need that final push. I like that this book is short and sweet and to the point. The writing is no-nonsense, it's well written but it's not overly flourishing or wordy. The author gets right to the point, which I appreciate. I liked the discussion of various types of habits that we may be stuck in, and that the lower-level habits are actually good in that they save us time and brain power when we are able to make decisions without thinking about them too much. Overall, a good book, I'd recommend it.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a guide that invites readers to change their habits.
It is never easy to change a habit because it requires getting out of our comfort zone, making significant changes in our life and probably doing things we never did before. Throughout the pages of this book, we can find diverse strategies, personal advice and experience to achieve personal growth and success.
The book is concise and this makes it even more captivating, as it makes it a good choice to be read at any time that people have available.
The graphics that the author includes are allusive and super clear, it is highly recommended to take a look at them as we read the theory to get a better understanding.

[Dani Savante · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Real Change” written by Jason Hreha addresses the topic of self-help and habit modification. Unlike many other books that promise quick and easy change, this great book offers an approach grounded in rigorous science and transformative practices. My experience with this book has been surprisingly revealing; it has allowed me to reflect and learn more.
From my point of view, the most important aspect of the book is the concept of the Path of Transformative Practice. The author does not propose superficial adjustments, but he has guided me towards a real transformation. I loved him and I recommend him without a doubt to anyone who is on the path of personal growth.

[Mariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the reality in which we live, where all the time we are seeing content from people who are super active, productive and successful, you feel this pressure to make changes and adapt your life to much more structured and balanced habits. In this book, you will find an incredible guide to get on track to have the transformation you have always dreamed of. You will identify all those myths that we have always been shown in books and at home, you will recognize those transformative practices that will make you get your best version and you will also feel the expertise of the author, since being a scientist puts a much more solid foundation to all his findings.

[Shinay · Rating 4 out of 5]

INSIGHTFUL READ

As a type A personality, this was an insightful read. I loved how simple he made the concepts and how practical they are to apply. I will definitely try this and see how it works. I gave 4 starrs because I thought it was a little repetitive even though that could have been strategic to underscore the points and help with memory. I even think this is a helpful read for my husband as we are personality scores apart and usually struggle to find lasting habits and behaviours to help us get to our goals. Loved this book. And will share and recommend.

[Angela Bradfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

If your into reading in a nonfiction format this book is great. It does give a lot of depth insight on understanding some science, as why our goals don’t always work out. I feel more people should read this and truly do the activities. Especially, if your job is based on team building and leadership.

[David Wiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was short but took me some time to read because it was a bit boring. It, however, was very useful. It does a very good job on explaining habits and how they actually work. Could be worth going back to.

[Ommar H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy práctico y con muy buenos consejos, sencillos y en mi opinión bastante bien desarrollados durante el libro. Meg gusto mucho y fue de muy fácil lectura.