Change your life's direction Break free from your past inertia and chart a better future

Sports psychologist Taylor (Raising Generation Tech) delivers a manifesto for emotional development in this empathetic volume. After classifying readers into two groups--Captains, who are emotionally mature, and Inertials, who deal with situations in an unproductive way--the author explains that well-meaning parents who attempt to instill successful traits in their children often unintentionally teach unhealthy values of perfectionism and contradictory beliefs, such as feeling the need to be thin or beautiful. It can also lead to an unhealthy desire "that disproportionately impact our life inertia," which can only be satisfied in dysfunctional ways, such as by becoming a "pleaser" to conform to one's environment, resorting to anger, or closing off in a self-protective shell. The author outlines a strategy for breaking free from these limiting beliefs by rewriting personal rules, redefining success and failure, and learning to set healthy goals. Taylor reinforces these tenets with 12 rules for human beings, such as "learn to forgive yourself" and "confidence is born of proper practice." Addressing a broad audience of anyone who feels stuck in a rut, he also provides well-considered, practical advice for thinking functionally about change: "make a conscious choice to react differently than you have in the past." Readers struggling with self-esteem will find a toolkit of solutions for building a confident path forward. (May)