The Light Switch Myth

The Light Switch Myth: A Beginner's Guide to Creating Realistic and Sustainable Change

Begins with a simple truth: most of us know what it feels like to be hard on ourselves. We chase perfection, set impossible standards, and get caught in spirals of criticism and shame when change doesn't happen "fast enough." The promise of instant transformation leaves us not inspired, but defeated.

This book offers another way. Drawing from personal experience, professional coaching, and trauma-informed practice, the author invites readers to examine their own relationship with change - how expectations, self-talk, and external pressures shape the path. Instead of rigid formulas, readers are guided toward a kinder, values-based approach that emphasizes self-compassion, personalized strategies, and sustainable growth.

Through original imagery and constructs, reflective prompts, and practical tools, *The Light Switch Myth* reframes change as a path that unfolds uniquely for each person. Along the way, readers learn to build balance, identify supportive structures, and cultivate an internal sense of worth and motivation.

Warm, relatable, and deeply practical, this book is for anyone who has struggled under the weight of unrealistic expectations and is ready to explore change in a way that feels both possible and meaningful.

Key Themes:

Our Relationship to self is a foundational component to quality of life and quality of connection to others.

Change/growth is non linear

Shame, guilt, perfectionism block progress

Compassion does work as a motivator and an agent of change

Personalizing our efforts based on our own values and internal feedback lends to change being meaningful, sustainable, and often enjoyable

Small steady shifts/steps work better and faster than big leaps/overhauls

Choosing support and resources that mirror compassionate approaches is more effective than those that pressure or make false promises/exaggerated claims.

This book has been reviewed for ethics and accuracy by a Clinical Counsellor MSW/RCSWC. It is intended to be trauma informed and therapeutic in nature but not a substitute for professional help.

Kerisma Vere is the founder of Towards Wellness Coaching, a writer, and a passionate advocate for sustainable change. Drawing from personal experience, formal and informal education, as well as her coaching practice, Kerisma blends compassion, strategy, and creativity to help others walk their own path toward lasting transformation. Her own path of wellness has been a lifelong journey, unfolding in many directions and teaching her that change, healing, & growth are rarely linear. This lived experience has provided her with deep insight into many of the struggles some of us face and continues to shape the perspective she brings to both her coaching and writing.