The Beethoven Factor by Paul Pearsall

Sometimes it seems like we’re all sick and crazy. This may stem from a focus on trying to find and fix what is wrong with us. Psychologist Paul Pearsall referred to this as a pathogenic focus. In his book The Beethoven Factor, he discusses the field of positive psychology, which focuses on what is right with people and what we can learn from those who are well adjusted, happy and healthy. In particular, Pearsall focuses on thriving.

Thriving is growth in the aftermath, and even in the midst of, stressful situations. The people he discusses and learns from in his book, some patients of his and many his fellow patients in a cancer ward, often suffered greatly from disease, war, poverty and other hardships. These people had there ups and downs, but they managed an emotional upward trend.

The heart of thriving is a flexible explanatory style. We’re all telling ourselves stories that interpret and evaluate our lives. People who thrive are adaptive and creative in the stories they tell themselves, which allows them to savor and find meaning in their lives even while suffering.

Thriving can be paradoxical, especially from a pathogenic outlook: someone is becoming stronger in a situation that is expected to make them weaker. Those who thrive can defy the expectations the traditional view of healthy thinking. They work on themselves, which can sometimes make them seem aloof or insensitive. They can be in denial, but they use it to give themselves a temporary escape for pain and time to think. They can be hard to like because of their intensity; when someone is getting the most out of life, they may have little patience for interruptions, naysayers and whiners. They are reflective, which can make them seem withdrawn. They can be depressed, down on themselves and loose hope as they make their journey. Thriving is a process of learning, so it can take a long time, though sometimes someone will catch on quickly.

Pearsall offers a lot of advice on how to thrive, especially in the second half of the book (the first half focuses on introducing positive psychology and defining thriving). This section focuses on four aspects of thriving: hardiness, happiness, healing and hope.

Hardiness comes from our beliefs. Hardy people have beliefs that help them commit to engaging in living, finding a sense of control—which includes knowing when to let go of control—and seeing the difficulties they face and challenges they can cope with if not overcome.

Happiness is rooted in flow. It is focus and engagement in life. Happy people push aside distractions, expectations and striving for things that don’t really bring them joy.

Healing is fundamentally learning. We all suffer to some extent in our lives, and these periods of sickness or other hardship are telling us to slow down and pay attention. Healing people learn to make sense of what happens (in their own ways),  cope with it, and find meaning in their experiences.

Hoping is what Pearsall calls “cautious optimism.” People who hope find a way to hold onto their dreams, or come up with new dreams, without expecting on depending on them. They imagine that the world, imperfect as it is, may be the best possible world, so they get on with seeking all they can enjoy in it.

Pearsall offers his readers a big dose of practical grace. If you’re really finding your own way to cope with adversity in a way the truly engages life as fully as you can, you’re on the path to thriving and it is okay that you may not be the upbeat, outgoing, positive, realistic person that your psychologists, physicians, self-help books and friends think you should be. Living is learning, especially in times of sickness and difficulty; learning is challenging, slow work that requires focus and imagination. If you’re learning, you will struggle and be worn out sometimes. You’ll also be engaged in life in a way that puts you in an uneven, but upward trend, instead of spiraling downward in despair.

Paul Pearsall also wrote

The Last Self-Help Book You'll Ever Need

Toxic Success

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson with Miriam Z. Klipper

The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck

Solve for Happy by Mo Gawdat

Pearsall, Paul. The Beethoven Factor: The New Positive Psychology of Hardiness, Happiness, Healing, and Hope.  Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads, 2003.

Conspiracy Theory Notes

11 Outrageous Taxes
Above Top Secret
Another Runaway General: Army Deploys Psy-Ops on U.S. Senators
The Best Conspiracy Theories (Lizard People are Running the World!)
Building the American Caliphate
Caliphate Revival
CIA Spy Gadgets Go Public
Conspiracy Planet
Curveball Confession: Another Dent in Iraq Conspiracy Theory
Glen Beck Adds Google to Caliphate Conspiracy Theory
Infidels are Cool
More on conspiracy theories
Obama Conspiracy Theories
Protect Smart Keys from Hackers, Car Thieves
Rolling Stone: General Deployed Psy-Ops Against U.S. Senators
Slow Broadband Still a Problem for the U.S.
Solar Flare Scrambling Communications
Why is Glenn Beck Freaking Out over Egypt and a Caliphate

Some proponents and opponents of conspiracy theories use inflammatory language. If you want to comment here, keep your cool, and watch your language.

The Numbers behind NUMB3RS by Keith Devlin & Gary Lorden

Devlin, Keith, & Gary Lorden. The Numbers Behind NUMB3RS: Solving Crime With Mathematics. New York: Plum, 2007.

The Numbers Behind NUMBERS is not a math textbook. Like the television show it accompanies, it aims for a broad audience. Where NUMB3RS is chiefly a crime drama, this book is about how math is and can be used to solve real word crime and other problems.

Even for a popular book about math, there is very little use of mathematical notation. The only complicated equation in the book is in the first chapter. It is Rossmo’s formula, which is used in geographic profiling of crimes to determine a likely home of a criminal. Devlin and Lorden describe the formula in plain English, as they do all the math in the book.

One of the notable things about Rossmo’s formula, and nearly all the math in the book, is that it simply attempts to describe actual things in numerical terms. Because we have tools for handling numerical information, the hope is to predict behavior and uncover hidden patterns using these tools.

An interesting thing that is brought out in the book is that the mathematical contribution is not always about numbers. Math is also about logic and abstract reasoning. The contributions Charlie, the mathematician character in the show, makes are often about approaches and perspectives and may not involve any calculation.

Also highlighted by the book and the show are how much applied math uses computers. One of the things that makes math so powerful is our ability to automate calculations. Going back to Rossmo’s formula as an example, you will find in it operations that would be familiar to most people. However, if you applied it to a grid that might have hundreds or thousands of squares, you would soon run into an insurmountable mountain of calculations if you had to do it by hand. Because computers can calculate very quickly and repeatedly, math can be powerful and timely.

Even so, using math to solve problems, just like using standard investigative techniques to solve crimes, can be slow. This is something the book admits, but it does not work well in a television show that fits in and hour along with some commercials. Real world math must deal with real world data that is often disorganized, incomplete and inconsistent. Even a straightforward analysis may take a long time because of the effort needed to gather, organize and standardize the data.


Numbers is a surprisingly easy read. People who enjoy the show and would like a little better understanding of the math without needing a graduate degree will likely enjoy this book.

Keith Devlin also wrote The Unfinished Game.

What's New April 27, 2011

Alternative Fuels and Energy Resources Articles and Links (Updated)
Congress Passes Appropriations (6 Months Late), Gears Up for Next Budget Battle
Featured Book
Featured Category
Interesting Stuff April 17, 2011
King James Bible Celebrates 400th Anniversary
Lyons Confirmed for Nuclear Energy Post
Shake it Out on April 28
Slow Down, Dammit!
What's New April 11, 2011
Will Eisner by Michael Schumacher

Do you use or enjoy the What’s New posts? Do you hate it? Let me know your opinions on the usefulness of this feature by commenting. Thanks.

Late Bloomers by Rich Karlgaard

The heroes of our age are young. Mark Zuckerberg, the man who made millions on Facebook while still in his 20s, is a notable example. Though Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak and Tiger Woods are no longer youngsters, they achieved fame and wealth early in life and that is at least one reason why they remain famous. Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard is concerned that our focus on early achievement is depriving our society of the untapped potential of many—probably most of us—who develop at a slower rate. He discusses his concerns, and what we can do about it, in Late Bloomers.

 An industry has developed around seeking early achievement. You have to do well in school and get great SAT scores to get into elite colleges. You have to go to elite colleges to get jobs with the best companies. You have to work for the best companies to get ahead in life. If you have the right stuff, you can skip some of these steps and create your own successful business in your 20s.

 Except it’s not really so. Becoming equipped to succeed on this narrow path, which depends on early achievement, does not necessarily prepare one to have sustained success or achievement in any other area of life.

 In addition, most of us don’t have the mental equipment to make wise choices and stick to them while where young. The brain doesn’t fully mature until we’re in our mid-20s. Though the brain starts to slow down after that, certain types of intelligence—based on knowledge—continue to increase into our 40s and can be sustained well into old age. This late-developing intelligence can more than make up for the slower processing speeds of older brains.

 Kalgaard shares the stories of some late bloomers. Martha Stewart started her catering business at age 35, and published her first book at age 41. Toni Morrison published her first book, The Bluest Eye, when she was 39. More up my ally, Raymond Chandler was 51 when The Big Sleep, his first book, was published. Karlgaard pulls examples from the arts, business, sports and other fields.

 Karlgaard describes himself as a late bloomer. He didn’t do well and struggled in dead-end jobs until he was 25, when his brain finally matured enough for things to start clicking. This was when he was able to get a job that most of us would consider  ordinary, and he still had a ways to go before his career took off.

 Late bloomers have several skill, some hard-won, that help them succeed in their own time. They retain curiosity; they do not specialize to early and they do no avoid failure they way early achievers often do. The have compassion for other and themselves; they’ve had to overcome failure. They are resilient; they have developed perspective and support networks. The have learned to stay calm. The have insight gained from varied experience. The have wisdom, the elusive quality that arises from a maturing brain and a wealth of experience. The have learned when to doubt themselves and when to trust themselves. They know when to stick and when to quit. They are patient.

 As a society, we need to recognize that early achievement is not the norm. People develop at different rates and may peak in different ways at different ages. If we want to enjoy the full potential of people, we have to value the contributions of late bloomers.  We also have to open pathways for them through life-long learning and late-career pathways that force people out just because there is no more ways for them to move up the corporate ladder.

 If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

The First 20 Hours by Josh Kaufman

Future Bright by Martin E. Martinez

The Genius in All of Us by David Shenk

Learn Better by Ulrich Boser

Mindset by Carol S. Dweck

Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer

The Organized Mind by Daniel J. Levitin

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Quiet by Susan Cain

Self-Love by Robert H. Schuller

Your Intelligence Makeover by Edward F. Droge, Jr.

 Karlgaard, Rich. Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement. New York: Currency, 2019.

The Introvert's Way by Sophia Dembling

Blogger Sophia Dembling writes about her life as an introvert. This subject carries over into her book The Introvert’s Way.

Dembling tries to sort out what introversion is. It is not simply the opposite of extroversion, nor is it shyness. It is not antisocial or pathological. Introversion and extroversion are different ways in which the brains of people operate. There is much that is positive in the introverted way, even if western—and particularly American—culture has a preference for traits associated with extroverts.

Admittedly, introverts can come across as aloof, timid, or too intense. Dembling describes how introverts are simply responding to the world in ways that suit our (yes, I’m an introvert) sensitivity to stimuli, energy, and way of thinking. When we withdraw, we’re simply tired or overstimulated, not angry or shy. We can seem intense because we like making deeper connections and we are passionate about our interests. Dembling suggest that introverts can combat misperceptions by first accepting themselves as they are and then gently explaining it to others.

Another thing that introverts tend to do that can drive extrovert up the wall is we think and act slowly. My longsuffering wife has learned to give me plenty of advanced notice when an important decision is needed from me or us as a couple. This may be why introverts shine in e-mail, texting, and social media (some of us old-timers still write letters on occasion). The media allow us to think and respond at our own pace.

Dembling also addresses the misconception that introverts don’t have fun. We do. Sometimes we even have fun at parties or social gatherings, especially with a small group of close friends or family. Introverts generally like quiet, slow-paced activities. Extroverts probably look at us and think we’re not doing anything.

Each chapter is written as a short essay. In addition to dealing with the issues already mentioned, Dembling writes about how she and other introverts deal with things we tend to hate, like parties and small talk. She takes a middle ground somewhere between don’t be bullied by (well-meaning) extorverts and suck it up because these things are part of life. To have the peaceful life introverts want along with the social life they want (and they do want one), they have to strike a balance, and Dembling suggests some ways that balance can be made.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine N. Aron

Quiet by Susan Cain

Dembling, Sophia. The Introvert’s Way: Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World. New York: Perigee, 2012.

Range by David Epstein

Specialization is king. It has become seen as the road to success. Since Malcolm Gladwell popularized the 10,000-hour Rule a few years ago (perhaps unintentionally), I’ve seen a lot of people using it to justify and spell out the road to specialization: focus and start early. However, specialization can hurt when we face problems that cross boundaries and pull us out of our niche; we can be lost and ill equipped outside of our specialization. Journalist David Epstein explored the issue in his book, Range.

 Epstein starts out by showing the limitations of specialization. It works well in an arena where repeating patterns prevail, and we can learn to recognize those patterns from exposure. When there are no repeating patterns, or they are complex and obscure, a high degree of specialized knowledge can lead to wrong conclusions and false confidence. We can have a few good tools that we trust, but if they are the wrong tools for the job we may be doing the wrong thing without realizing it. Complex environments and problems require us to reason conceptually, connect ideas from different contexts and solve problems without direct prior knowledge of what we are facing. We need breadth.

 Though it is not as popular a narrative, Epstein provides several examples of how people with broad and diverse knowledge have become high achievers. Creativity is, to a great extent, finding relationships between seemingly unrelated things. One must be equipped with a variety of experience to be able to make these leaps.

 I can see how the generalist’s path can seem unappealing. It may not seem like a path at all. Deep learning is slow and effortful. It is a way of errors, false starts and diversions that can seem like a waste of time. Developing range is messy and uncertain; by comparison, specialization seems like a sure thing.

 Epstein’s book contains ways to develop range. Analogies allow us to apply knowledge from one area to another, and seeing where analogies fall apart can lead to new ideas. Take an outsider’s cooler, distant and critical view and save yourself from the pitfall of taking a rosy view of familiar things. Pay attention to things that don’t fit the model. Don’t plan too far ahead, but be open to exploration an experimentation. There is a time for mastering particular knowledge and procedure, but the overall approach to learning should be to make connections and gain perspective.

 If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

The First 20 Hours by Josh Kaufman

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

The Genius in All of Us by David Shenk

Learn Better by Ulrich Boser

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

 Epstein, David. Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. New York: Riverhead Books, 2019.

Second Peter

Peter writes this letter towards the end of his life.  As he anticipates his death, he wanted to use all his remaining time to remind people of the Gospel and what it means for them.  This letter is meant to be a reminder that will continue after Peter’s death.

In many ways, this is a letter of warning.  Peter as spent his life preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and teaching Christians to hold to the truth and live by it.  However, even in the first generation of the church, there were people who sought exploit the opportunities they saw in this new religion to get followers, wealth and power for themselves.

Peter reminded these Jewish Christians he wrote to that there were false prophets in the Old Testament days.  Similarly, false preachers would try to deceive the church.  They needed to be on guard, because these false preachers would be stirring orators who make big promises.  They would have an appealing look, sound and message.

However, false teachers will be empty of substance.  Their appeal is not to the heart seeking God, but to the flesh seeking to satisfy its lust, though they will try to disguise it.  Watchful believers will recognize them by their sinful habits, covetousness, and lust.

The best guard against false teachers is to always remind ourselves of the truth.  We are blessed to have the Word of God to test what we hear and no whether it is good or bad.  We should remember that God is faithful, and if it seems that He is slow in coming, He is not.  He promised to come again, to judge the world, to destroy what is evil, and to give His people eternal life with Him.  We should be diligent in Christ-like character and good works, leaving little room for sin or the temptations presented by false preachers.

An interesting note is the bit of reconciliation Peter attempts to broker at the end of this letter.  Paul was not a popular figure among the Jewish Christians.  Peter validates Paul’s teaching and mission.  It is a gracious thing for an old man to do after being one of the most prominent people in the church since its founding.  He is more concerned with the truth, the continuation of faithful preaching, and the purity of the people than his position.  If his reputation has value to him, it is in the opportunity it affords him to direct people to faithful, true teaching that will be around when he is gone.

Peter also wrote

First Peter

Second Peter.  The Holy Bible.  New King James Version.  Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Google

The Revenge of Analog by David Sax

The joke about visions of the future that never panned out is usually, “Where is my flying car?” The proliferation and promises of digital technology over the last two or three decade might prompt us to pose some other questions such as, “Where is my paperless office?”

In The Revenge of Analog, journalist David Sax discusses how analog technologies are sometimes thriving in the digital ages. Some are making comebacks. Some never went away. Some are growing more popular because of digital technology, not in spite of it.

Sax looks at a lot of analog technologies. This includes vinyl records, paper and pen, tabletop games, books and brick-and-mortar stores.

Some of these have very interesting histories in how they have fallen, risen and interacted with digital technology. What I found most interesting in the book is the reasons analog persists. It is usually because it brings something that digital technology leaves out.

For instance, analog technology appeals to the senses. I know a lot of bibliophiles who love the smell of books, though it would not seem to be a pertinent feature. The IRL space is simply much richer that even the most detailed virtual space.

 “There’s never going to be a virtual environment as completely engaging as the physical environment is,” computer game designer Bernie De Koven quoted in The Revenge of Analog

Analog is usually slow. Generally, a strength of digital is that it is almost always faster. We don’t always want fast. Sometime the slower pace, the pauses, helps us to take things in and savor them. For instance, when you listen to a vinyl record, you can’t skip songs at the touch of a button, you have to lift the needle and move it or even change records. You can’t listen to any songs you have in random order, but you have to listen to song on a single album in the order the artist or producer arranged them unless you introduce a lot of pauses as you interact with the discs and player.

Analog is limited. The digital world can be so rich with information and choices that it can be overwhelming. Paper and pen limits the size, colors and effects you can produce. These limitations help us hone in on the main issues quickly and get moving.

“People think limitations are bad things. But it moves the process forward, in a good way. You can easily get lost in the process. It’s easier to stick to a plan when you have limitations,” analog recording studio owner Chris Mara quoted in The Revenge of Analog

In the real realm of communication, analog is more intimate that digital. The ultimate analog communication is a face-to-face conversation, mediated by nothing but the air in between two people. We send off a lot of nonverbal signals when we speak, and we sense these signals from others, which gives us a more rich and nuanced understanding of what is said (and unsaid) than we can get from a text message or even over Skype or Facetime.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

Learn Better by Ulrich Boser

The Organized Mind by Daniel J. Levitin

Sax, David. The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter. New York: PublicAffairs, 2016.

The Irresistible Introvert by Michaela Chung

Introverts can feed out of place, in especially in the United States and other places where extroverted characteristics are celebrated and introverts are often misunderstood. Michaela Chung considers how introverts can make their own way in the word in her book The Irresistible Introvert.

Introverts are not antisocial or shy. We (yes, I’m an introvert) like people. In comparison to extroverts we tend to be more introspective, needful of solitude and quiet and slow. Some introverts are highly sensitive people (I think I fall into this group, too).

Chung doesn’t say there is a right or wrong way, there is a place for both extroverts and introverts and all the blends in between. Her point is that in extroverted cultures introverts need to find ways to be comfortable being themselves.

That is Chung’s theme: introverts should accept themselves. If you are an introvert, embrace your strengths and stop trying to fit into an extroverted mold. Be kind to yourself. Make room in your life for the quite time, solitude and thinking that you need.

Of course, introverts are social beings. We enjoy connecting with others. We like deep conversation and close friends.

For many of us, this area of connection and communication can become a source of discomfort as our style clashes with the prevailing extroverted style. In the latter part of the book, Chung shifts to showing how introverts can find ways to open up, form friendships and communicate in ways that play to their strengths.

Introverts aren’t likely to work the room the way extroverts do. We can, we just find it exhausting. Chung’s advice often touches on this issue of energy. With a little planning, introverts can manage their energy in social situations. Introverts can be spots of calm and warmth in a crowd that attracts others. They can trade awkwardness and tiredness for self-possession and intriguing allure.

Chung draws frequently on the experiences of introverts including herself. Many of these experiences resonated with me. If you’re an introvert you might enjoy the book simply because you can see someone else understands your experience. You might find some of Chung’s advice helpful, too.

I you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

The Emotional Energy Factor by Mira Kirshenbaum

The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman 

The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine N. Aron

The Introvert's Way by Sophia Dembling

Quiet by Susan Cain

Chung, Michaela. The Irresistible Introvert: Harness the Power of Quiet Charisma in a Loud World. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2016.

Reading Like a Writer by the Aptly Named Francine Prose

Prose, Francine.  Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them.  New York: HarperCollins, 2006.

Reading Like a Writer is different than the other books about reading that I’ve read so far.  Francine Prose doesn’t discuss judging what you read, but learning from it.  She wants readers, like herself and the aspiring writers she teaches, to look at how great writers accomplish what they do.  In that sense it is as much a book about writing as it is about literary criticism.

The book is organized with writing in mind.  Prose covers topics that are of interest to writers of fiction: words, sentences, paragraphs, narrative, character, dialogue, details and gesture.  In each chapter she discusses these issues using examples from works of classic literature.  I confess that I’ve read very few of the books she references, but she provides enough of a quotation or explanation that you don’t need to have read the book to follow her illustrations.  You don’t need to have a degree in literature to follow; this book might serve as an introduction to some classic literature.

The method Prose proposes is close reading.  This is slow, attentive reading.  It can be very purposeful, such as seeking out every time an author uses a particular word or concept.  Of course, to read with such a particular purpose in mind suggest you or someone else has already done a close reading with a more general purpose of paying attention and noticing how the book affects you and how the author accomplishes those effects.

Close reading is not intended to be a dry and analytical.  Books can be enjoyable, moving and fun.  If a fiction book doesn’t have some emotional impact on you, even if simply the pleasure of entertainment, then why would you bother to read it?  Close reading includes taking in the beauty of a story and the words used to express it.  You may not want to approach every book this way, but great books are worth the time and effort.

This book might be interesting to the critic or reviewer, professional or amateur.  I think it will be more interesting to aspiring writers who want to learn from the masters.  Prose has several masters to recommend and an approach to setting at their feet as they teach.  She won’t tell you how to write.  As much as there may be rules to writing there are examples of great writers who have bent or broken them. Reading Like a Writer may help you discover how writers did it well and hopefully you’ll continue that course on your own.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster

How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read by Pierre Bayard

Google

Interesting Stuff October 28, 2008

HEROES, ANTI-HEROES & REGULAR FOLKS
InBev acquiring Anheuser-Busch for $52 billion
Interesting Stuff Oct. 26, 2008
Japanese Engineer Died From Overwork (don’t let it happen to you)
Life Not Worth As Much, Says Gov't Agency
Mehbooba Ahadyar, Afghanistan's Only Female Olympian, Disappears in Italy
Siena fountains showcase medieval engineering
The Slow Down Payoff? -- Money and Lives
Water Giant Philip E. Lamoreaux Dies

Colossians

Colossians. The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Paul wrote to the church at Colossae about the centrality of Christ in Christian faith and living.  This letter is a defense of the Gospel against other teachings, particularly Gnosticism.

In a few sentences, Paul reminds his readers of the who Christ is.  He is divine (1:15).  He is the creator (1:16-17).  He is the head of the church (1:18).  He reconciled us to God, atoning for our sins through his suffering and death on the cross (1:19-20).

As Christians, we have assurance of these beliefs from God by His Word, the Holy Spirit indwelling us, and the evidence of history.  Our salvation is a work of God, not of men or philosophies.

After recapitulating the Gospel and what it means for Christians, Paul moves on to warn against false teachers.  He describes those who would impose another system of philosophy or tradition as someone cheating Christians out of the fullness of what God has provided for them.

One of these philosophies is legalism.  Our nature makes us incapable of living up to a ethical standard imposed from the outside.  We cannot pretend our way to righteousness when our hearts rebel against it and God can see our hearts.  Similarly, not system of thought or philosophy or practice can make us right.

God takes another approach, making us anew and changing us from the inside.  He gives us a new heart.  It isn’t an instant change, as a brief observation of any Christian will attest.  What is instant is that the atoning work of Christ erases the indictments against our sin and His perfect rightness is attributed to us in God’s eyes, even if it is not worked out in practice yet.

Christianity is not a system of philosophy or practice, though there are beliefs common to all Christians.  Christianity is a new life in which God works in us to change our hearts and empower us to live in a new way.  Our new heart loves God and loves to do what is right, so as we grow we put away our old wicked habits (though it can seem painfully slow), and begin to do more and more what our new heart wants, live like Christ.

In Chapter 3 of his letter, Paul contrasts the old life with new life.  He encourages believers to embrace their new life even as they embraced the Gospel.  Both accomplished by the same faith (and both are ultimately the work of God, though we are by His grace participants in that work).

Paul also wrote

First Corinthians

Galatians

Philippians
Romans
Second Corinthians

Google