Make Change That Lasts: Nine Simple Ways to Break Free From The Habits That Hold You Back by Dr Rangan Chatterjee (Penguin £18.99, 272pp)
Dr Rangan Chatterjee is a GP in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and must be one of the most celebrated doctors in the country.
He has written six bestselling books, of which this is the latest, he is a well-known TV presenter, he has 1.4 million Instagram followers, and for six years has presented the most popular health podcast – Feel Better, Live More – in Europe.
But you won’t be able to get to see him for your chilblains or a nasty spot of earache. Which seems a pity really as, judging by this sumptuously produced book, he talks a whole lot of thoughtful common sense – which most of us would benefit from, without any question.
I am not a natural fan of ‘New You’ self-help books, which tend to flood the market at this time of year. But this is a revelation: non-quirky, not faddy in any way, just rippling with down-to-earth reliable advice, free from any short-term trends.
It is a book about dealing with the reliances we have, often addictive and not just to eating or drinking too much, but, say, to continual busyness, or the need to be liked, or the refusal to move on, that stop us having our best life, especially with all the bewildering stresses of the modern world. And judging by the photography, we would all enjoy being like Dr Chatterjee, who is clearly not a man entirely short of vanity.
The book is packed with images of the good doctor relaxing in jeans and a cashmere V-neck playing his guitar or re-arranging his vinyl collection and looking, it has to be admitted, enviably cool.
Sometimes he can be seen moving out of the vast picture windows of his splendid house to commune with nature, also lavishly photographed.
He is a guide not a lecturer, writing in a beguiling style, calling on personal incidents – a car crash here, a disagreement with his patient wife Vidhaata or an act of extreme selflessness by a pal there – to examine and explore the broader picture. He is not telling us what to do, but offering insights into the tools that might help us.
There are nine chapters, each with a robust and unarguable message – he deplores, for example, the victim culture so prevalent nowadays with the apparent desire of everyone to take offence at the drop of a social media post – and they all contain practical steps towards forming good habits and making lasting change.
Here are just some of his lessons: Trust Yourself, and don’t rely too much on experts; Be Yourself, and don’t rely too much on being liked; Embrace Discomfort, and don’t rely on comfort; Expect Adversity and don’t rely on Things Never Going Wrong; Reclaim Your Time and don’t rely on being busy all the time. And so on.
All the chapters are packed with insight. He is very good, as you would expect from someone who does so much, on the packed schedule of modern life.
‘The to-do list of an ordinary adult is like a magic bucket that keeps refilling . . . We will never thrive unless we accept this truth, learn to prioritise, and learn to say no. Over the years I have come to believe that our reliance on busyness comes from a fear of insignificance. Busyness helps us feel important.’
Our culture, he writes, has created the toxic idea that if we have space in our lives, we are somehow failing. Stress, he writes, can create the conditions for us to become seriously ill and now there is an epidemic of burnout.
Handily, Dr Chatterjee supplies six signs that we are heading for burnout, ranging from emotional exhaustion; an inability to think creatively; being unable to find pleasure in simple things; living on a terrible diet; feeling physically exhausted and also disconnected from people. Any boxes ticked for you?
So what can you do? How can you develop the essential life skill of slowing down? Dr Chatterjee praises the Jewish tradition of the Sabbath, known as the Shabbat, where no work is permitted and the whole family engages in restful activities, eating, drinking and socialising, and enjoying games.
It is the ultimate experience of anti-busyness, he writes, and as many of us know, Jewish families are often unusually close and supportive.
As for the rest of us, Dr Chatterjee recommends taking a ‘slow day’. I’m not sure how this would work for everyone, but he suggests we try walking slowly in nature – ideally without a phone; or enjoying a slow and leisurely breakfast.
He also suggests driving 5mph under the speed limit, though in London, it’s virtually impossible to drive at anywhere near the speed limit anyway. Take time over cooking, he advises, and try having a slow and relaxed lunch or dinner. All very well, rather than one of his other suggestions to work on crocheting or a complex jigsaw.
But you can see what he is getting at. He has a range of recommendations – some easier than others. Most of us won’t be able to do a marathon but we should all be looking for challenges that take us out of our comfort zone.
How about trying some wild camping or a cold shower or a swim every day? Strength training is important; and maybe we should learn something new. We should take the stairs whenever possible. He is a keen advocate of writing a journal, whether of your activities, your consumption, your ambitions for the day, or achievements of the previous day.
Certainly one of the most successful (and admired) people I know writes a daily list of the ten things he wants to achieve that day. It seems to have worked.
A significant chapter is about taking less offence, whether face to face or via social media. Dr Chatterjee argues that training ourselves to be less offended is one of the most important things we can do for our physical, mental and emotional health.
We shouldn’t rely on being right all the time: if we do it’s because our identities are so fragile they crack under the slightest pressure. One particular worldview cannot possibly always be correct. It’s OK to say ‘I don’t know’; try to be curious about other views.
Though I am not sure how far Dr Chatterjee’s favourite phrase to defuse disagreement will go down in the furnace of social media fury that blights the modern world. Rather than say, ‘That’s not right’, he urges, say ‘I have a different perspective.’ Well I am sure he is spot on and everybody will start feeling better, but whether those five words will work on ‘X’ has yet to be seen.
It can be easy to lightly mock books like this: after all, self-help can be a tricky journey. But without question, this is an outstanding publication. You feel vaguely sorry for anyone who won’t get anything out of it. Highly recommended.
