Is this a shameless post asking you to post reviews of my books on Amazon?

Of course, that would really make my day but hopefully you’ll see why it would be a good thing to do when we look at reviews as a whole.

There are tons of TVs at the gym – and fortunately the sound is not on because the very loud music is..sigh. Thank God for audiobooks.

Lately at least one station a day is talking about what happened in 2022. So, if the news highlights the review process, it must mean one of two things, right? Either they think it’s important or they are just trying to fill up slots….or both.

Why do we review things? You’ve heard that history repeats itself. If it does, wouldn’t it be great to study what went on so that you will be prepared next time.

When you write a race report, it’s a review. When your boss evaluates your performance, it’s a review. When you look at your financial expenditures, it’s a review. When you get ready to send out Christmas cards, it’s a review. Etc..

What are you looking for when you review something. You’re looking to see what went right, what went wrong and what trends are identifiable.

When you share reviews, you’re helping other people know how to handle things. Or, in the case of a book review, you’re helping them decide if they should spend their money on that particular book.

Why look back a the previous year only? How good is your memory? If it’s like mine, good luck with that.

Why not do daily and weekly reviews – maybe you think that’s too much, then try monthly or quarterly. Use your calendars to see what’s happened.

This is a much better way to improve your life. You may not be happy with something that’s going on in your life but don’t know what to do about it. You have to recognize patterns and actions as well as thoughts and feelings. You can do that by reviewing each situation that has happened that you’re not happy with. If you review enough of them, you’ll see the trends and be able to identify what to change. Then you can either simply alter your behavior or perhaps get help with some change. But at least you know what it is you want to change.

Try the stop, start and continue process (daily or weekly is best for this):
Write down the things that if you stop them, it’ll lead you closer to what you want. For example, I will get a lot closer to editing my next book if I stop playing games on my phone all day.

Write down the things that if you start they will improve your situation. Example, when I had to stop walking and doing impact activities in November, I decided it would be a good time to start doing cardio at the gym every day. That included the stair climber which I had “intended” to start “sometime” to help me with the steps at Vol State. What better “sometime” than when I couldn’t do any other exercise.

Write down things that are working well and you want to continue. For example, my morning routine is perfect. It enabled me to read over 44 books in 2022.

Reviews are for you to see where you’ve been and where you might be able to go. If you choose to share your lessons, that’s great and will help others but it’s not essential.

And if you write a review of one or both of my books, it will help people realize they are books that are not just about running. And I’d be forever grateful.