The Positive Shift

Some of this is cliches we’ve all heard before. However, I’m trying hard to be really present in all of my books, so I looked beyond the cliches and really took to heart what was being said in this book and it’s good to reaffirm things you may have already heard and put them into practice in your life to better yourself. This book helped to remind me of that:

The Positive Shift is an easy read full of wonderful reminders and enforcing anecdotes on the power of positivity. Unlike many books in this genre, much of the book’s discussion centers around positivity and aging. Yes, this has been done before, but not quite in the same manner. Many of us are aware that a positive mindset affects both base-levels of happiness and longevity. But did you know that it also affects our hormones? There are a lot of great reminders that context matters, as do perception and our ability to reframe stress and the labels that we use. A solid four stars.

This book summarizes and analyzes the results of scientific studies on various topics that are related to happiness and health. The author herself is not full of unicorns and rainbows, and clearly states so. Coming from a more pessimistic personality, she provides concrete advice and useful evidence for ways to work on shifting your perspective to be more positive. Recently having been through some negative times, I found this book to be very helpful. The only thing that detracted from my enjoyment of the book at times was that sometimes I thought there were too many summaries of scientific studies used to illustrate a point. But perhaps that is helpful for others.

I received this book as an ARC from BenBella Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Another popular topic that is in high demand at our library is self-help and happiness. Those fly off our shelves like crazy. The positive shift really took a powerful concept and presented it in a way that was unique and different. Catherine Sanderson talks a lot about optimism in seeing the goodness of every situation and the good in every environment including online on Facebook and Instagram. Your mind is a very powerful asset if you let it be and Catherine Sanderson displayed very insightful and helpful research that really painted the whole picture on focusing your mindset on the positive side.

We will consider adding this title to our Self-Help Non-Fiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

This book was what I needed to read this year. I always thought of myself as a positive person but after reading this book I realized I had some negativity in my life.

What I love about this book is it isn't all rainbow and roses it is a hardcore how to implement words and action into a positive life. I like how the author gives examples and helps you to implement actions.

After reading this book I realized I needed to purge my life of negative people and thoughts that are holding me back. I have started implementing her teachings to help me in both personal, business and health. I have already begun to see improvement.

The amazing thing about this book, which I didn’t realize until the conclusion is that there are two different ways you can make this positive shift — through your thinking and/or through your behavior. Thus by presenting so many different strategies, The Positive Shift can and will help all people who are looking for a way to become happier, healthier and live longer.

if you are looking to make a fresh start and live a more positive healthy life then this is the book you should be reading ASAP.

Are you a glass half-full or a glass half-empty kind of person? Us glass half-empty people, like the author of The Positive Shift, can change our mindset and become glass half-full people with the help of the strategies presented in this book.

Dr. Catherine Sanderson has written an important book with significant real-life implications — having a positive mindset can impact one’s health and longevity, not to mention one’s well-being. There can be no doubt that Dr. Sanderson has done an extensive review of the research and theories and presents this information in an easily digestible form. How well has Sanderson researched the content of this book? Approximately 68% of the book is text and 32% is footnotes (according to my kindle). Many of these notes are citations of psychological and medical journal articles. In addition, each chapter contains an average of 29 footnotes.

This book is easy to read and put into action. In fact, it is perfect for today’s short-attention spans because it presents the information in bite-sized chunks — each chapter contains small sections with headers describing the content to follow. Sanderson explains the research studies thoroughly, by presenting the study’s procedure and then the results and conclusions. Moreover, at the end of every chapter, Sanderson presents ”take-home points,” which succinctly provides three strategies to help you implement what was discussed in that chapter to ultimately assist you in becoming a glass half-full kind of person. Throughout the book there are short quizzes which keep the reader involved and informs them how they fit with the material being presented. Some of these quizzes evaluate your failure mindset, your stress mindset, inclination to self-criticize, and inclination to make comparisons to others.

When I first looked at The Positive Shift, I saw that it was divided into three sections — 1. Discovering Mindset, 2. Understanding Mindset, and 3. Changing Mindset. I must confess that I was a bit dismayed to see that I would have to read approximately 2/3 of the book before I would get to the practical advice (changing mindset). But I was mistaken. The first two sections are chock full of important strategies to change one’s thinking or mindset whereas the final section deals with changing behaviors.

Sanderson shows that what we think affects our health as well as how long we live. For example, we learn that beliefs about getting older impact how long people live and how they age. A positive viewpoint leads to a happier and healthier life and focusing on what’s good instead of what’s bad leads to a longer life. As such, shifting your thinking to be more positive can improve the quality of your life and can lead to a longer life.

The real beauty of this book, which I didn’t realize until the conclusion is that there are two different ways you can make this positive shift — through your thinking and/or through your behavior. Thus by presenting so many different strategies, The Positive Shift can and will help all people who are looking for a way to become happier, healthier and live longer.

Thank you to BenBella Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Honest and in-depth advice for reaching your full potential. This advice is presented in easy to follow language that can be broken up and applied in pieces at a time.

I think "The Positive Shift" is a wonderful addition to anyone looking to make a positive change in their lives by really taking a look at their life from the outside-in. Even those who consider themselves to be positive may uncover negativity in their own lives that could be holding them back.
This book offered tangible solutions to use your words and actions for a positive outcome and offers up examples on how to do so. A positive mindset will lead to not only a happier life- but a healthier one as well. Looking to make some positive changes in 2019? This is the book for you. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received a copy of this book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.


I truly believe our mindset is a powerful too, and we tend to get stuck in it. The Positive Shift, focuses on being positive and optimistic. How to switch our mindsets to live a happier life. It all seems easier said than done sometimes but it is truly something we have to choose. Instead of choosing to be negative. I enjoy that this book is straight to the point. I will purchase for myself as I can see me going back and re-reading this great deal of information.

Highly recommend!