Switchcraft: How Agile Thinking Can Help You Adapt and Thrive

Description

What is the key ingredient to a happy, successful life? There is no one-size-fits-all solution to dealing with life. Elaine Fox, one of the world's leading psychologists and performance coaches, has witnessed this time and again. In her work coaching top athletes, military leaders and business professionals, she has seen that it's the people who know how and when to switch between different approaches - people who have an agile mind - who achieve the best performance. Drawing on 25 years of scientific research, Fox shares with us her step-by-step guide to what she calls 'switchcraft': the set of skills we need to navigate a complex and uncertain world. Whether it's coping with a difficult boss, overcoming a fear, dealing with hyperactive children, resolving a dispute with a friend or making a difficult choice about where to live or what to do, switchcraft helps us thrive in any situation. Like your own personal life coach, Switchcraft shows you how to break out of a rigid mindset to restore your fulfilment, curiosity and zest for life.

Elaine Fox is Professor and Head of the School of Psychology at the University of Adelaide, Australia. Prior to moving to Australia she spent almost ten years at the University of Oxford where she founded and directed a world-leading research centre exploring the nature of resilience and mental wellbeing. A cognitive psychologist by training, she is a leading mental health researcher combining genetics, psychology and neuroscience in her work. Elaine also runs a consultancy, Oxford Elite Performance, bringing cutting-edge science and psychology to those at the top levels of sport, business and the military. She was born and brought up in Dublin, Ireland and has held academic positions in Ireland, New Zealand, the UK and Australia. Her first book Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain was published in 2012. Follow Elaine on Twitter @profelainefox and Instagram @profelainefox

Switchcraft is a fascinating book, packed full of practical advice on how to help you survive and thrive in an uncertain world. Written by a leading academic, it offers real insights in how to cope with the stresses and strains of a post-covid world. -- Michael Mosley The only thing we can rely on in this world is uncertainty. This books tells you how to duck and dive when the unexpected surprises are incoming fast and hard. -- Ruby Wax For me, having the mental strength when I was competing on the track was key to my success and still is today. This book provides straightforward valuable tools and processes for people who have their own hurdles to overcome. -- Sally Gunnell OBE, Olympic Gold Medalist A book full of important insights. In clear and accessible language, Elaine Fox shows how psychological science can help you to be agile in meeting challenges and to be flexible when things change. Drawing on personal experience and years of applying her research in coaching elite performance, she shows how adopting a few key skills can transform your life in profound ways. -- Mark Williams, Professor Emeritus of Clinical Psychology University of Oxford