Rooted in Decency: Finding inner peace in a world gone sideways

by Colleen Doyle Bryant

Overview

What happened to common decency? And how do we move forward toward cooperation and kindness?

Take a quick scan of the headlines and... wow. From disrespect to deception, it's easy to question whether indecency has taken root in society. Rooted in Decency offers insights from a range of sources-from Aristotle to today's thought leaders, from happiness research to neuroscience-that paint a thought-provoking picture about how we got here and how today's culture may be affecting the way you think and feel in unexpected ways. Discover a path for each of us-and all of us-to move out of this divisive period.

Insights to change the conversation

Short, conversational chapters deliver "a-ha" moments that you can use right now to change the tone of the debate. Get in on discussions like:

Why self-respect makes people happier than self-esteem

How to talk to people you don't agree with (in a way that they'll listen)

How some people misuse respect to justify disrespect

How a culture of personal responsibility is the secret to better mental health and less tribalism

Clarify your moral compass

Rooted in Decency reveals four core values that are the foundation for personal happiness, strong teams, and positive societies. Using an innovative approach, you can clarify your own moral compass and see how it can guide you through these contentious times.

Great for book clubs, teams, leaders

With built-in journaling pages, each short chapter offers ideas and exercises that can help us see each other and the issues in a more productive way. No matter which side of a debate you're on, learn tips for understanding other perspectives and knowing how to communicate so that other people can understand what you value.

Reviewers agree, Rooted in Decency is the book we need right now!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780984905669
Publisher:	LoveWell Press LLC
Publication date:	10/04/2022
Pages:	340
Sales rank:	712,407
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.71(d)

About the Author

Colleen Doyle Bryant is an expert on common decency and the author of five books and more than 50 learning resources about making good choices for the right reasons. Her Talking with Trees series for elementary students and Truth Be Told Quotes series for teens are used in curriculums around the world while parents and teachers download more than 100,000 of her learning resources on honesty, respect, responsibility, and more good traits each year. Her latest release for adults, Rooted in Decency: Finding inner peace in a world gone sideways, looks at how the decline in decency in society is affecting us personally, and how we can move forward to a place of more kindness and cooperation.

Editorial Reviews

2022-11-18
Ideas and exercises for finding stability and meaning in a divisive, destabilizing world.

In the wild year that was 2020, Bryant looked around and realized that Americans were deeply divided. Curious about what happened and how we might realign ourselves, the author started doing the research that would become this book. Bryant trained as a sociologist, but she also has a wealth of experience creating resources used in elementary and secondary social and emotional learning curricula around the world. Part 1 covers working on oneself: fostering self-respect, maintaining intellectual flexibility, learning from negative emotions, and developing other skills that promote lasting happiness. In Part 2, we’re invited to consider that how we treat others affects our own well-being. She describes how people have evolved to cooperate—to give up some personal freedoms in exchange for the benefits of living in a society—and looks at the ways we can enhance our lives by seeking community. Bryant builds upon the first two sections in Part 3, where she explores belief systems spanning the globe and thousands of years of history looking for core moral principles. Each chapter ends with journal prompts—questions like “Have you ever changed a behavior or created a new habit? How did you go about it?” Along the way, Bryant draws from a wide array of resources, from the work of contemporary happiness researchers and evolutionary biologists to Thomas Paine and Confucius. An attempt to address “identity politics,” however, offers a simplistic critique: “Real injustices have happened, and people are reasonable to want that to be acknowledged and corrected. But if the goal is truly to reach our society’s ideals for equality and fairness, we need a different approach that doesn’t wrap people’s identities in a shared sense of suffering.” In its entirety, this is a comprehensive program for creating a healthy culture by creating a healthy self, but Bryant offers an excellent annotated index in case readers need a quick hit of wisdom or a refresher course on a particular topic. And anyone who wants to go deeper can find her sources in the “Notes” section at the end of the book.

An insightful, accessible guide to feeling good by doing good.

Kirkus Reviews