“Without a system, your day can fill up with random stuff that feels urgent but isn’t actually moving you toward anything meaningful,” Decook writes in this pep talk for readers who feel unmoored or unmotivated. “When you’ve got a system—even a loose one—you’re in charge of your time, not the other way around.” In these pages, the author presents just such a system in the form of 10 tools to help readers change their lives. The prompts range from “Create the Picture of Your Future” (“Because once you can see it, you can start building it”) to “Align Yourself With Your Values” (“Know your values. And never compromise them just to fit in”) to “Clear the Space So You Can Soar” (“When we let go of the past—the pain, the people who hurt us, the resentment that’s been festering—we free up this massive amount of energy we can finally use to create a life that feels good”). Roadblocks, she reminds her readers, are a part of the journey. “They’re not a sign to give up,” she writes; “they’re part of the map.” Decook’s direct and affectionately encouraging tone runs throughout the book, underscored by frequent digressions into stories from the author’s own family life, from a childhood she didn’t particularly like to an adulthood full of its own challenges. Compassion is a major theme in the work, as Decook consistently urges her readers to practice kindness and healing: “When we forgive—others and ourselves—we’re not only generous. We’re giving ourselves a chance to heal.” “Action steps” accompany each of the author’s tools to ground the material in practicality, but it’s Decook’s general zest for improvement that will stick with readers.
