Making Good Habits, Breaking Bad Habits

14 New Behaviors That Will Energize Your Life

By: Joyce Meyer

Narrated by: Sandra McCollom

Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

From nail biting to cell phone addiction, procrastination to overspending, bad habits seem to outnumber the good ones. Unfortunately, we pay a price for bad habits that outweighs the immediate gratification that they bring.

In this audiobook, Joyce Meyer starts by examining the nature of habits. The first habit - and most important one to have - is the God Habit. By making it a habit to start your day by reading the Bible and communing with God, asking for His help in your efforts and His strength and sustenance, the stage is set for overcoming the habits you want to break and establishing new ones in their place.

She then explores how to break bad habits by examining the destructive negative behavior patterns.

The author moves on to discuss 14 good habits and devotes a chapter to each. By the end of the chapter, the listener has a specific roadmap to follow until the behavior has become automatic (the definition of a habit). It's like following a GPS to get you to a new place. After traveling the same route several times, the GPS isn't needed for you to find your destination. The "habit" of following the right route is ingrained.

Among the habits discussed are:

• The God Habit
• The Habit of Being Decisive
• The Health Habit
• The Happy Habit
• The Habit of Faith
• The Habit of Excellence
• The Habit of Being Responsible
• The Generosity Habit
• The Hurry Habit
• The Discipline Habit
• The Confidence Habit

©2013 Joyce Meyer (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Couldn't get past the accent and "reading" voice

What did you like best about Making Good Habits, Breaking Bad Habits? What did you like least?

I watch Joyce Meyer all the time on TV and I have always liked her very much. I loved the concept of replacing bad habits with good ones and ordered the audio book.

Unfortunately, the narrator's pronunciation and accent began to bug me. (for instance, "God will not forget you" sounded like "Gad will nat forget you." Also, there was no story-telling flow, just sounded like reading.

I thought Sheesh, who is this narrator?? So I Googled her name, Sandra McCollom, and found that she is Joyce's daughter. The Google search opened Pandora's Box of all these articles about Joyce Meyer and her family and all the controversy about her ministry and money etc. It was kind of a bummer.

The concept and the message of the book is great, but I couldn't enjoy it because eventually I was wincing every time she said Gad.

I think Joyce would be better to hire a professional to convey her books with more flow and enthusiasm.

Strictly A Matter of Opinion

Any additional comments?

I know she means well but there are parts of this book that demonstrate how little research was done during the writing process. I know that the paradigm rests in religion but some of her references are ridiculously inaccurate and downright dangerous. For example, she claims that cortisol (a stress hormone) causes the heart to beat at "four times its natural rate" (chapter 8, 07:35). A healthy adult heart rate is 60-100 beats per minute. This would mean that, according to the author, even a little bit of cortisol would result in a heart rate of 240-400 beats per minute. This is absolutely ridiculous.

Another asinine quote appears in Chapter 8 at 10:25 when she says "The experts say we should drink half of our bodyweight in water everyday." The Mayo Clinic reports that a rough approximation for adequate water consumption is 3 liters (about 4/5 of a gallon) per day. I'm a 175 pound man and by the authors recommendation I should drink nearly 10.5 gallons of water EVERY DAY. That's not only ridiculous but would be incredibly dangerous. That quote alone was enough for me to discredit her entirely.

If that wasn't enough, late in the book she says, "People may forget what you said and what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel" (chapter 17, 08:37). It's a beautiful quote but there's just one problem: Joyce Meyer stole it. Maya Angelou, one of the greatest writers in recent times, deserves the credit for that one.

As I mentioned in the beginning, I know the author means well. However, for anyone out there looking for information on how to build habits this isn't the place to start. At times she comes across as downright condescending and offers little to no helpful information. She references the bible often but relies only on her personal opinion. In sum, this book is a collection of poorly researched and misguided opinions and nothing more.

The Narrator is terrible

I love Joyce Meyer, i listen to her podcasts regularly and i have read a couple of her paper books. The narrator's monotone voice ruins this book. I have a very hard time listening. I enjoy the content but I struggle to stay focused on her voice. I'm not sure why Joyce did not narrate this as she has narrated other books of hers that i've listened to. I've had this book for a couple months now and I try to go back to it, but i'm only half way finished because I get tired of the narrators voice. I think i'll buy the print version of this book instead.

Encouraging!

I enjoyed this audio book. I now know that I can over come bad habit such as anger. This audio book gives good advice on how to over come bad habits with God's Word something I didn't realize that I could do. It has given me peace, enlightenment and encouragement to get where I want to be and break free from bad habits in my life that effect everyone around me.

My mistake

Would you ever listen to anything by Joyce Meyer again?

I wouldn't read anything from her that is God-centered

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Sandra McCollom?

Reader was just fine, in the 6 minutes of book that I listened to.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment. Despite I'm an atheist, I can hear some God references without getting utterly annoyed about it (for example, Zig Ziglar). But this was too much. It was my mistake, because obviously I read the title, not the description.

Any additional comments?

Christian books should be shelfed under "Christian books", not under "Self Development". Those two categories are not related at all.

Not Joyce

It's not just the content that matters. this woman's voice and the attitude behind her voice are nothing like Joyce Meyer. This reader doesn't put emphasis in the same way that Joyce does.

Helpful

I'm sure that Sandra is a lovely person, but she should consider some space coaching if she is going to record audio books. I cringe every time that she says gad instead of God.

Born again and loving it.

Who knew at age 44, that reading coukd be so helpful. My struggles as a new creature is difficult but I thank Joyce Meyer for this book and her Battlefield of the Mind book. Besides God, the Holy Bible, and the Holy Spirit, I appreciate my church and my tv gospel family.

I can't wait to hear it again! Apply to me life

There are so many wonderful teachings and lessons that will change your life and make each day better.
So you can enjoy your journey to the fullest.

Inspiring

Loved it. I am ready to start with one easy and a hard habit to break.