BOOK REVIEW

A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step – Lao Tzu. The beginning is significant but the journey is the determinant of success. But what to do if the journey tires you? What to do if it gets lonely? What to do if you face hurdles? Well, try reading Be Better Bit-by-Bit!

The author, Nishith Goyal, is a Chartered Accountant and a life-cum-self-transformation coach. In his book, he not only motivates the reader to begin the journey but also focuses on the consistency and constancy in the journey.

This self-help book has a very simple philosophy at its heart – small and consistent improvements. ‘This book is about breaking down the journey into bite-sized, chewable goals and actions’, claims Nishith. While introducing the philosophy behind his book, he has raised some thought-provoking questions and propositions. For a person like me who thinks that the adventure of life is in its randomness and in the unknown, this book may seem a little non-conformist. However, there was one self-realisation paragraph on not wanting to feel embarrassed that struck just the correct chord in me – ‘What are the five things that I did in the last twelve months of which I am proud? Every time the answer leaves me amazed at how clarity of thought can bring our goals close to us. My mind now is accustomed to this question and supports me every time I take on something new because my brain does not want to feel embarrassed when I answer this question.’

A practical guide to self-development, the book starts with a detailed insight into its philosophy which is inspired by the Japanese Kaizen meaning continuous improvements. The illustrative non-theoretical expounding of this philosophy filled with anecdotes is engaging. Many of us tend to avoid change by just making excuses. The Limbic System of our brain, or the Chimp brain which has been conditioned to fear change through our evolution, is the real reason for our resistance to change, says Nishith. He elaborates that the Chimp’s fear of failure is the reason for us not fighting the resistance to change. His ‘Bit-by-Bit’ philosophy attempts to precisely target such resistance. Baby steps towards change that may seem insignificant at the start, but by the power of compounding will significantly tantamount to a noticeable improvement. Well, die-hard Warren Buffet fans know how compounding multiplies wealth!

Want to run a marathon? Start with a fifteen minutes’ run daily. Wish to read 50 books? Target five to ten pages daily. Want to write a book? Start with writing two pages a day. Want to join the 5 a.m. club? Wake up 15 minutes before your normal waking time. Nishith advises that we start with small steps and do so consistently so that they do not overwhelm the Chimp brain. The author has supplemented the philosophical explanation of the importance of the extensively accepted tools of self-improvement – Self-Awareness, Mindfulness, Meditation, Reading, Journaling and Morning routines – with practical tips and exercises to imbibe each element in our daily routine. The art of journaling as a technique of self-awareness and self-development is a recurring theme of the book, and rightly so. Those who have read Jim Collins’s Great by Choice will be reminded of ‘the 20 miles march’ – staying on course on bad days and not over-exerting on good days.

Describing self-awareness as a lifetime journey, Nishith has enumerated certain prompts like answering questions on self, mind-mapping, journaling, mirror gaze technique, writing an obituary or eulogy for oneself, as also practising mindfulness through gratitude, breathing exercises, window-gazing, de-cluttering and the water exercise. He has elaborated on certain useful tips to make commuting less irksome and steps on having a productive morning routine which sets the tempo for the entire day. The scientific explanation on rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stages of sleep along with simple tips of sleeping better (quality, not quantity) was a revelation for me. While Nishith’s running journey is an inspiring story, only running as a self-development technique was lost on me. He mentions physical exercise in general but mainly focuses on running which disrupted the flow of the book for me.

Throughout the book, Nishith has drawn from his own life experience of taking baby steps towards a journey of self-improvement. His shift from normalcy towards being a marathon runner, balancing a full-time corporate job with life and self-transformation coaching, reading hundreds of books, writing articles and at the same time enjoying quality family time, is an inspiring story. This he has done, he mentions, by practising each of the elements of self-improvement consistently over a span of three years – every day, bit-by-bit.

Nishith’s love for reading and continuous efforts towards self-improvement are evident from the collation of ideas emanating from inspirations drawn from a large number of books that he has referred to in the bibliography. The 31 questions on self-awareness from The 5AM Revolution by Dan Luca; principles of mind mapping from Finding Your Element by Ken Robinson and Lou Aronica; the Seed Exercise as a self-awareness exercise and the Water Exercise as a mindfulness exercise from The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho; and tips to better sleeping from Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson, amongst others, including articles on the Medium, these may be familiar to some readers. If one has already read a number of self-help books, this book may just seem a retelling. Since the core focus is on journaling and, more specifically, writing and reading, creative arts like drawing and painting as self-awareness activities remain largely unexplored.

Even then, while most self-help books seem imposing, Be Better Bit-by-Bit is a subtle imposition through a perfect blend of theory, life experiences and short stories, techniques, practical tips and actions. The simple language, backed by the author’s own trials, is comfortable and friendly to the mind. It is like a display of self-development techniques from which you can pick and prepare a bouquet of the ones that suit you. To know which ones work for you, for each of the techniques, Nishith has designed certain exercise space in the book and activities that the reader can practise while reading the book. Not all the techniques may make it to the bouquet and no two bouquets may be the same.

Be Better Bit-by-Bit is Nishith’s attempt to guide the reader to start taking those baby steps towards a journey of self-development and achieving the goals. The tone of the book is friendly and motivational. It does not seem over-imposing or merely a non-practicable theory at any point. This book is a good starting point for someone who is a beginner in the self-help genre, or someone who has read self-help books but never got around to practising it. Atomic Habits by James Clear published in 2018 will be a good complementary read along with this book.