cover image Badass Habits: Cultivate the Awareness, Boundaries, and Daily Upgrades You Need to Make Them Stick

Badass Habits: Cultivate the Awareness, Boundaries, and Daily Upgrades You Need to Make Them Stick

Jen Sincero. Penguin Life, $26 (256p) ISBN 978-1-984877-43-7

Bestseller Sincero (You Are a Badass Every Day) brings a joyously bold attitude to this 21-day plan to form and maintain good habits. Flipping the process of habit creation on its head, Sincero first focuses on successful habits readers already have, arguing it’s easier to change when one can see evidence of the benefits of doing so. (Sincero writes that her own push for change was built on a foundation of politeness, punctuality, and tidiness which came naturally to her.) The primary advice here is to develop a 21-day structure based on mantras (such as “I can have both money and love, I am free to make money”), routines (such as establishing a morning meditation) that bolster better habits, activities (such as finding a support group or trainer), and rewards (such as cheat days in healthy eating routines). Though Sincero occasionally tilts too far into the realm of positive thinking—“You’re privy to the magic trick of manifesting what you desire through focus and taking right action”—she provides plenty of practical suggestions (appreciate one’s body without shame in a mirror, make oneself a treat at the start of difficult tasks) and maxims to live by: “You are responsible to other people, you are not responsible for other people.” Sincero’s fans will love this. (Dec.)