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AdaptAbility: How to Survive Change You Didn't Ask For [Hardcover]

M.J. Ryan
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)


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Book Description

May 12, 2009
Learn the secrets to taking any change in stride.

“Change is hard,” we say, and it is even harder when change is thrust upon us. In today’s tough times, we may be forced to reinvent our career or downsize our lives; at any point in life, we may lose a love or a dream. Our first reaction to change we didn’t ask for may be to rail against fate. But what if we could see past today’s turmoil and spot the opportunities that lie within unasked-for change? That is the promise of AdaptAbility, bestselling author and executive coach M. J. Ryan’s paradigm-shifting new book on not merely surviving but thriving when change is required.

Why is it so hard to accept change? Paradoxically, it is for the very reason that our brains usually work so well; we are designed to learn something and make it automatic. The problem is that when circumstances change, our “efficient” brains keep trying to do things the same old way. In AdaptAbility, Ryan provides strategies to retrain your brain and optimize your response to change, step by step: by first accepting the new reality, then expanding your options, and finally, taking effective action. She offers cutting-edge tools for becoming calmer, less fearful, and more flexible, creative, and resourceful in your thinking. Best of all, as your “adapt-ability” increases, so does your confidence that you will be able to face whatever life sends your way and find new ways to flourish.

M. J. Ryan, internationally recognized as a leading change expert, is one of the creators of the New York Times bestselling Random Acts of Kindness series and the author of This Year I Will . . . , The Happiness Makeover, The Power of Patience, Trusting Yourself, and Attitudes of Gratitude, among other books. A member of Professional Thinking Partners, she specializes in coaching individuals and teams around the world. She has appeared on the Today show and CNN, and is a contributing editor to Good Housekeeping and Health. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and daughter. Visit her website at www.mj-ryan.com.


Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for AdaptAbility

“You are always more resilient than you think. In her motivational and optimistic book, M. J. Ryan shows you how to face the unexpected and use what you've learned to be happier in life, in love and at work.”
–Nell Merlino, leader of Make Mine a Million $ Business and author of Stepping Out of Line

“The change you don’t ask for has a way of smacking you between the eyes. M. J. Ryan’s AdaptAbility teaches us how we can get through the pain more quickly and extract greater meaning from the nonnegotiable events of life.”
–Ellyn Spragins, author of What I Know Now: Letters to My Younger Self

“If you’re struggling and think that one more book can’t possibly make a difference, think again. M. J. Ryan has the rare gift of breaking things down into clear pieces that can be tackled.”
–Laura Berman Fortgang, author of Now What? 90 Days to a New Life Direction

About the Author

M.J. Ryan is one of the creators of the "Random Acts of Kindness" series, which has sold more than one million copies, and the author of The Power of Patience, The Happiness Makeover, and many other titles. She founded Conari Press and is currently an executive coach and a popular speaker. She is a contributing editor at Good Housekeeping and a regular contributor to Health magazine. She lives in Walnut Creek, California. Sign up for M.J.'s "I Will" Power daily e-mails at www.mj-ryan.com. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Harmony (May 12, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0767932625
  • ISBN-13: 978-0767932622
  • Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.9 x 7.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #576,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

M.J. combines a practical business perspective gained as a CEO of a publishing company with a strength-based approach to help clients reach professional and personal goals. Using methodologies from positive psychology and neuroscience, she is able to quickly identify a client's underlying thinking talents and helps them efficiently use them to overcome challenges and maximize success. She has coached many high level executives as well as entrepreneurs and individuals around the world who want lives of greater purpose and success.

Her clients include Frito Lay, Microsoft, Royal Dutch Shell, the U.S. military, Hewitt Associates, SRAK (a joint venture between Shell and the Saudi Arabian National Oil Company), the Cowell Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club, and the town of Paradise, Ca.

She is the author of many best-selling books including her latest ADAPTABILITY: How to Survive Change You Didn't Ask For and THIS YEAR I WILL...How to Finally Change a Habit, Keep a Resolution or Make A Dream Come True.

www.MJ-Ryan.com

Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
(11)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 43 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Not What I Expected October 21, 2009
Format:Hardcover
I got a great deal out of two of Ryan's previous books--"The Happiness Makeover" and "Trusting Yourself." I thought that this new book would help me to cope with recent unwanted major changes in my life. It didn't. I still give this book 5 stars because I think its actually a great book--but its not what I needed. I suspect that I misunderstood the focus of the book before I purchased it. It contains very timely and helpful advice--but it is almost entirely about money and career issues. Other kinds of problems are addressed briefly throughout the book--but I really couldn't figure out how the adapting strategies applied to my situation.

So If you recently lost your job, your home, or your savings--this book can probably help you a lot. If you are dealing with a debilitating, incurable illness--or the death of a child--or other life changing experiences that may not be primarily about financial issues, than this may not be what you are a looking for.

I would like to give this book to a friend who is going through job and money worries right now--but I hesitate because the book seems mostly geared towards people who are in the higher economic classes. If you don't own a home, or a car and can barely afford food--you may not relate to people who have to change the focus of the the businesses they own.

I think that this could be a great book if its what you are looking for--but I wanted to write this review so other readers won't make the same false assumption that I made--I was thinking of "adaptability" and "change" in the more general sense, when this book is really more specific to the financial issues of the privileged classes.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Action, Not Reaction July 7, 2009
Format:Hardcover
M J Ryan has done a great job of outlining how to survive change - expected or unexpected. In a hurry? Reading the table of contents alone will give you more than enough to get started. In itself, it's a step-by-step guide to surviving unexpected change. At 219 pages, this book manages to be both a quick and easy read and everything you need to know to become adept at staying afloat in permanent white water. The book is crisp, clear, and full of useful advise. I would recommend it to both my personal and my executive coaching clients.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars First Aid For The Soul September 20, 2009
Format:Hardcover
Cancer diagnosis? Bankruptcy? Job loss? Suicide of a loved one? Serious depression? Home foreclosed? Child custody battle? -- or other unexpected misfortune? This is the book for you.

M.J. Ryan's "AdaptAbility" is the first book that I would now give any loved one or friend who was abruptly blindsided with some disaster.

In lucid, direct language, and short, bite-sized, but very informative chapters, Ryan dispenses first aid for the soul -- valuable nuggets of information that can be immediately applied to fixing the outer disaster and inner trauma that can drag a person in distress down into a depressed lethargy.

As indicated by the book's title, Ryan's advice focuses on increasing the "adaptability" or "resilience" of people during tough times, giving them many small, effective strategies for changing their thinking rapidly, so they can focus on salvaging what can be saved from the wreckage, and turn their energies quickly towards building a new life.

From "Avoid Shame by Remembering That Difficulties Can Happen to Anyone" to "Create a Story of Possibility," the ideas in Ryan's book speak directly to the deepest personal wounds.

The only reason that I gave the book four stars instead of five, was that I would have liked more direct information on positive psychology in the book -- Ryan uses some of that movement's techniques, but I would have liked to see more of those techniques in the book, and citations to positive psychology books in the resources section. Puzzlingly, there are no citations to well-known positive psychology texts in the resources section, and only a few are cited in the book itself.

But this is a very minor criticism, compared to the 95% excellence of the book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars AdaptAbility
After reading the first 10 pages, I knew AdaptAbility isn't your run-of-the-mill self-help book. This is about strength. This is about power. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Victoria Klein
5.0 out of 5 stars Change can be less difficult
I am privileged to coach in health care systems. I contribute to the development of Leadership and Teams in a national system. Read more
Published 9 months ago by J. Bouda Associates
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!
I first listened to the book on audio and then purchased the book so that I could spend more time digesting certain parts. Read more
Published 23 months ago by kirstin
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for today's world
I have recommended this book to my friends and my clients. The author nails how to build resiliency in adverse conditions. Read more
Published on August 20, 2010 by Sheryl E. Woodhouse
4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging Read with Practical Advice
I found this to be an engaging read. Ryan blends a discussion of scientific research on psychological resiliency and positive psychology with storytelling and personal insights. Read more
Published on May 6, 2010 by D. Elwell
4.0 out of 5 stars Readable Chapters
I've read through 1/3 of the book and am finding it to be a readable collection of thoughts that I've mostly heard before, but are always good to hear again.
Published on October 11, 2009 by annie's mom
5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone needs a copy of this book
I would like to give a copy of MJ Ryan's new book, AdaptAbility, to everyone I know. MJ Ryan has long been one of my favorite authors, and in this book, she has written about... Read more
Published on June 1, 2009 by Book Bear
5.0 out of 5 stars Practical, Inspirational and Necessary
With todays' turbulent times, we are all being thrust into change we didn't expect or ask for. This book not only equips one with the tools they need to deal with and get through... Read more
Published on May 12, 2009 by Kenneth Gillett
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