Aran Dadswell
Cover Designer: Emerald Lake Books
Publisher: Emerald Lake Books
Publication Date: June 30, 2026
ISBN: 978-1-945847-92-9
Book Description
What would it feel like to wake up with more energy, clarity and confidence?
Burnout doesn’t happen overnight. It builds quietly through stress, pressure and the habit of putting everything else first.
In Better, Aran Dadswell introduces the concept of mental fitness: the daily practices that strengthen your ability to cope, adapt and thrive. Blending science, lived experience, and practical tools, she offers accessible exercises and reflections to help you build resilience, cultivate meaning, and protect your wellbeing by reducing guilt and overwhelm.
Written for people who want more than quick fixes, this guide offers realistic strategies to understand what makes you tick, care for yourself without guilt, and build the habits that help you feel steadier and more capable every day. Mental fitness is not about perfection. It is about feeling better, thinking clearer, and having the energy to show up fully for your life.
Discover how strengthening your mental fitness can help you not just survive, but find contentment and fulfillment.
What Others Are Saying
An important new exploration of mental fitness and how we can build a healthier mind, Better is for anyone interested in building resilience, increasing well-being and reducing burnout.
—Dean Mobbs, professor of cognitive neuroscience
and principal investigator of the Caltech Affect Lab
Better is a readable and compelling roadmap to mental fitness that takes the practice of self-compassion to another level.
—Choden, coauthor of Mindful Compassion
Better is a valuable distillation of behavioral science into simple, actionable rituals that protect our mental health and fuel our potential.
—Kai Foong Tan, organizational psychologist, executive coach and educator
Practical, punchy and deeply human, Better is the essential manual for anyone looking to master their mental fitness.
—Vinod Kumar, vice chairman of Everstone Group and CEO of Evercloud
Better is a rare guide that elevates our collective consciousness, reminding us that true performance begins with caring for our internal ecology. Aran Dadswell has written an essential book for every leader who understands that the most important infrastructure in any business is the mental fitness of its people.
—Shifra Cook, CEO of Ayda
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Readers’ Favorite Review
Better by Aran Dadswell introduces mental fitness as a practical way to train the mind in daily life. The book begins with a central idea: feeling better is not the same as chasing happiness. Dadswell shows how depletion can be noticed before burnout takes over, because inner pressure often has information about what a person needs. The Better Mental Fitness Framework treats the mind as something shaped through ordinary decisions that become practice. Each exercise turns thought into action, so the reader is not left with ideas alone. The author gives readers a method for conserving energy and returning to steadier footing when life knocks them down in the middle of ordinary pressure. Its aim is contentment that can last beyond a passing mood over time.
Aran Dadswell’s Better is serious self-help. A guide like this is so important right now, when we have all been trained to expect instant results. There’s no question that most of us can relate to the discussion on same-day delivery, and how modern conveniences can teach the mind to scan for what has not yet arrived. The writing is straightforward and accessible, and readers are provided with applications that can be implemented comfortably. The book is heavily researched and has a wide range of evidence behind it, paired with established models that complement lived coaching practice. Adults who find their days shaped by work pressure would benefit, as well as students building a sound routine around study. This is also an excellent fit for those interested in applied psychology through the Booster format, with each practice giving a usable next step. Very highly recommended.
