Habit Swap: Trade In Your Unhealthy Habits for Mindful Ones

by Hugh G. Byrne

"All of us have bad habits that we'd like to change-but where do we start? From the author of the highly successful The Here-and-Now Habit, this practical guide offers everyday mindful practices for replacing unhealthy habits with healthier ones. With this book, readers will learn to break free from the most common and challenging harmful behaviors-such as overeating, excessive drinking, procrastination, or compulsive texting-and discover the freedom and peace that come with living a more conscious life"--

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Personal Development, Psychology

172 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2020

Reviews

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book about mindfulness and reframing the way you talk to yourself. It's not the best book about how to develop better habits, which is why I didn't mark it a bit higher. I went into it wanting some great concrete ideas on how to get myself to get better at managing my many responsibilities as a writer, homeschooling mother and woman -- i.e. at the moment I'm helping four of my kids write books, try to work on my own writing every day, have to keep up a non-profit free nature magazine for kids that I always do at the last minute, cook for a large family from scratch, always get behind in my garden, want to drink less wine and more herbal tea, want to get my messy house in order, really need to exercise every day, and so on.

This book has a little information on how to replace unhealthy habits with healthy ones, but it's more about changing the way you talk to yourself and stuff like why social media is bad for you and meditation is good for you. There's lots of talk about what doesn't help you, and good information, but it's rather general. It probably will be very helpful for lots of people and I do recommend it, but it's not the best at giving you the actual steps to swap your habits other than basic information like make it easier for yourself to do the good habits, harder and less pleasant to do the bad ones, and put reminders in your environment.

I read a digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

[Natalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and New Harbinger Publications, Inc. for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

"Habit Swap" by Hugh G. Byrne is all about trading in your unhealthy habits through mindfulness. Byrne goes through all kinds of different life situations and provides techniques for how to mindfully power through or replace your initial habit for a better option.

This book was interesting because I don't often connect the idea of mindfulness with habits. Mindfulness feels like a separate practice, not something you can often do in the moment. It makes a lot of sense when placed together, but before now I usually felt like to break a habit I needed to replace the trigger. This book shows how we can tune into what we are feeling to change habits and it's unique to me.

I liked the length of this book for the topic. Byrne kept things short and concise with lots of tips. The short length allowed me to read this book in a couple sittings so as to fully put together all the points. This is the kind of reading I prefer, but sometimes it's not possible with self-help books. 

Overall, I gave this book 4 stars for giving me two things that I already know and connecting them in a practical way.

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Requested on Netgalley. Big thanks to NG and author for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review

This is nog exactly a negative DNF. It was interesting and can be very helpful for many readers who are searching for the way to create (and stick to) good habits. The thing that wasn't working for me was the somewhat high content on meditation. I have tried to meditate, but it is not for me.

I was hoping this book could give me more practical (and less spiritual) advice on how to deal with bad habits, ending them and move on to good habits. It has been helpful in some ways, like how you set goals and such, but there was just too much meditation involved that it was hard for me to read every chapter. In the end, I skimmed most of it and got out what was interesting for me.

I do have to say, to end on a positive note, that it is well written, understandable and easy to bring into practice.

So not 3 stars because it was bad, but because it was not the right type of self-help for me to get the most out of it.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is more of a book about mindfulness and how it can help you make changes in your life than a guide to actually making changes to your habits, which was a little disappointing. It is a good introduction to mindfulness though and it does go through how it can be used as part of making changes but it does go through the same steps for each 'bad' habit that it covers which did get slightly repetitive. It may have been better to lay out the steps as a collective and then cover how they can be tweaked to deal with the different habits identified.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the title is a bit misleading. Habit Swap didn't offer much in the way of providing strategies for replacing unhealthy habits but rather focused a lot on mindfulness. While mindfulness can bring you to a place of being able to swap negative behavior patterns for healthier ones, the book doesn't deliver the bridge that is necessary to make that leap.

[Irein Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a solid 3.5 stars. This book combines modern neuroscience, psychology, and Buddhism to discuss the benefits of mindfulness in living a good life. Specifically, he delves into habit change, meditation habits, states of thought and mind, etc, that are all conductive to the overall goal of being mindful. It is very much a practical book, a how-to-manual on mindfulness, often giving specific practices to try, previewing routines, listing instructions, etc. Although it was interesting to read, at times, it could be dry because of the pedantic tone.

I am sold on the book's central message: we live in a divided society and divided mind. By carefully cultivating attention and becoming more present in our everyday lives, we can meet our ineptitude with self-compassion, and cultivate better ways of living. Read this book to get a good primer on mindfulness and some actionable steps to try.

[Susie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a really interesting read and I had hoped that I would have learnt how to swap my habits. Alas, it didn't! It was based more on mindfulness than how to really address the issues and change. Shame really, as it sounded like it has such potential.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

[Jonathan Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: An e-copy of the book has been provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are of my own and was not, by any means, affected by this.

In entirety, this book is such a relaxing read. It is focused on having a strong habit towards meditation and self-acceptance. It was a wonderful read!

Also, I think that a huge part of why I enjoyed this book was because I was really looking into deepening my mindfulness and having a healthier way of life with regards to this aspect.

[Jeff Moffatt · Rating 2 out of 5]

not really what I was looking for. I was interested in learning more about meditation, and I was interested in author's insights, which comprised only a fraction (Maybe 6 pages) of the book. Well written, if maybe a bit redundant, but simply not what I was searching for (which is on me, not the author).

[Kim Furman · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were parts of this book that were difficult to read more than a couple pages at a time and parts that held my attention much better. Overall, there are some good insights into mindfulness and habits.

[Lieca Brown Hohner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I got a few tips out of this. But the repetition killed me. And if you're not into the trend of "mindfulness," you need not bother. I might say the recommended reading list in the back of the book was most valuable.

[Zoe Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Change habits through mindfulness practices.
An enjoyable read 🙏
This book contained some real gems, but I feel it could have been edited further to be less repetitive, creating a more concentrated and powerful set of instructions.

[Mandy Hazen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of confused on what I just read. Not very helpful. I felt the advice was coming from a very Judgy point of view, making it very hard to relate. Perhaps it was just the way that I read it. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am happy to have received a free e-arc of this title in exchange for a review. I plan on implementing the tactics I learned into my everyday life and using it to help me pursue my goals.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Habit Swap did a great job demonstrating how to reframe the way we talk to ourselves which I found helpful. I didn't really enjoy the read and wished it to be a bit more motivating of a read.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for mindfulness tips, not really what one looks for in a habit book.

[Nicky Brinsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and researched. Looking forward to trying this out!

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is mainly about meditation, being aware, and lots of budda quotes.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book could not have come to me at a better time as I'm focusing on trying to change some habits (particularly, overeating). I've read many books on habits and had practiced mindfulness and gratitude in the past, but "Habit Swap" but it all together in a new and interesting way. The book was easy to digest, offered great real-life examples and steps to take to put recommendations into practice.

In our day-to-day busy lives, it's important to follow some of the tips from this book to reconnect to center. Also, understanding that "bad" habits change our neural pathways and those pathways need to be changed again in order to counteract the habits previously formed was very important to learn. I now have a path forward to get myself back on the right track.

Highly recommend this book to those wanting to understand habits or wanting to delve deeper into mindfulness, meditation, awareness, and gratitude.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Habit Swap was not what I was expecting, but I loved it. If you're looking for concrete steps to take to become more active, sleep better, or change other habits, this book is not for you. Instead, Hugh G. Byrne outlines how the practice of mindfulness can help you identify urges and desires as they arise, and slow down so you can choose whether you want to engage in your old behavior or choose something new. He lists three steps to accomplish this: understanding why and how we get stuck in old habits, recognizing the possibility of training our mind, and engaging in a mindfulness practice. I especially appreciate Byrne's focus on non-judgment: rather than suggesting that habit change comes when we stop being lazy and access our "will power," he acknowledges that habits are difficult to change for evolutionary reasons we all fall prey to. I would recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a different take on habit change or wants to learn about mindfulness in general.

I was given the free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uses information from journals and articles, others and own stories. Tips and information to help you change your habits. Some nice ideas brought into the book.

[Casey Bates · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good self help book . Was well written and I want to apply the science from this book to my daily living .