Book Review

59 seconds: Think a little. Change a lot. 

by Professor Richard Wiseman

Pan, 2009

Just a minute. In fact, just-less-than-a-minute….there’s a lot you can do, says Professor Richard Wiseman, to squeeze some change into your life, using his series of short, quick, focused exercises designed to confront your fixed ideas and to make a difference to your usual ways of living, working and thinking.

Wiseman’s approach is largely based on cognitive behaviour therapy, and House therapist Julie Lockyer commends him for the way he uses a wealth of research to back up his suggestions. ‘He manages to challenge some underlying ideas we may hold with regard to parenting our children, our relationships and dealing with anger,’ she says. ‘He’s good on the practical things most people can manage – and especially those with very little spare time.’

Chapters end with a selection of evidence-based tips – and you really don’t need to read the book all the way through, start to finish, as dipping in and fishing out an idea is the way it’s designed to work. And ok, if some of them take more than 59 seconds to do, they’re all super-quick to read and understand.

His approach is eclectic and open-minded. A study which showed ‘praying for others’ has positive outcomes is included, and could be a way of ‘conquering stress’ he says – in the person doing the praying. Don’t pray for others to get material goods, though, as it doesn’t work.

And there’s a diet tip, too – hang a mirror in your kitchen. When this was done with a group of people presented with food options, they reduced consumption by 32 per cent.

There’s even a good idea for waiters – repeat the customers’ orders back at them when you’re writing down what they want, and your tips increase by 70 per cent. That’s because we respond positively to people copying what we do. If you want to create a good impression with a new girlfriend or boyfriend, mimic their body language and their words.

Julie Lockyer sees the potential value of the book for people ‘currently feeling ‘stuck’ at a point in therapy, and looking to restore a sense of control. I like the way Wiseman encourages independent decision making, and how he lists practical suggestions to make this possible, almost all of them referring back to experimental research.’

One weakness of the book is that it is without an index – and that’s something of a drawback if you have less than a minute to look up the useful exercise you read about before! Publishers: please note.