How to Define Yourself by Chuck Clifton Book Analysis

Who are you? How do you define yourself? These are the questions How to Define Yourself answers using the Stimulus-Space of Time-Response model. Throughout the book, we learn to become better versions of ourselves by Predefining ourselves and carrying out these definitions to Define yourself and when necessary, Redefining ourselves.

How to Define Yourself by Chuck Clifton is a self-help book. The book was written in the first-person point of view, as appropriate for a self-help book, to allow for the readers to form a stronger connection to the author and relate to the book on a deeper level.

Firstly, I liked that the book has definitions of important terms in the book - stimulus, response, space of time, stimulus-space of time-response model – and explains the basics and format of the book to ensure that the reader fully understands and appropriately interprets the book.

Secondly, I liked how the author makes the word “choose” bold to emphasise on the fact that your response is always your choice. Thirdly, the clearly defined list of stimuli, space of time and response detailed in the experiments is very helpful.

The book also shows the application of the stimulus-space of time-response model in everything from business to school to sports and hence makes the model applicable for people from all walks of life. The experiments mentioned in the book were easily doable but yet effective in healing me better understand the idea that was trying to be communicated. Lastly, the author provided personal stories as examples, these stories greatly intrigued me and aided in reinforcing the main idea better as I was aware that this story is real.

However, the book was also lacking in some elements. The format of the book – the main idea followed by examples and experiments – felt more like a research paper than a self-help book. This format made the book feel less personal and hence had a lower impact on me.

The lack of professional editing was also very evident in the book with basic errors in the book and 5 errors in the 84 pages of the book.

Overall, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. The reason for the deduction of the two stars being the research paper-like format of the book and the lack of professional editing. Although the book lacked the impact desired for me, this may differ for others. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to explore the definition of yourself and how to make yourself a better person. The absence of profane language makes the book appropriate for readers of all ages as well.