Tag: self-help

Your Life Calling:Reimagining the Rest of Your Life – Jane Pauley

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Your Life CallingWhen I saw Jane Pauley’s book.Your Life Calling in the library last week it was like, yes! This is the right book at the right time! And while it was not exactly what I anticipated, it was nevertheless a good read. See two months ago, I applied for Social Security, more out of necessity than actually wanting to retire. Throughout this past year, the work that I have done for the last 34 years,  has just not been there, and I have mostly been collecting unemployment and thinking about how I want to move forward with my life. I really don’t want to go out and find another job doing  the same thing that I have done, so when my unemployment insurance ran out, rather than just take any job, I applied for my benefits and upped my hours at Target. So far,it has been a good thing, but  I still keep wondering, is this all there really is, or is there something else out there that I would want to do!!

This is what  Your Life is Calling is all about, In the book Pauley provides ideas and thoughts about reimagining your life through the stories of those who have done it.  Pauley in her Dateline voice, tells the stories of folks like Betsy McCarthy who traded her executive briefcase for knitting needles, Gid Pool, who launched a career as a stand-up comic, Richard Rittmaster, who joined the National Guard Chaplain Corps: Trudy Lundgren who took her home on the road in an RV; Paulie Gee, who opened a successful pizzeria and many more. The two stories that were the mostly  inspirational were  the Jenny Bowman who established the Half the Sky Foundation which began with the adoption of an infant girl in China and the story of Ken Woods, who was selling his drill rig in Maryland and ended up  traveling to Ghana and drilling over a thousand wells, providing thousands with clean water, all at his own expense ! 

As I look back over the  book, while I’ m writing this, I am saying to myself, hey that was a good story and that one was too, and I wish I could do something like that! So I guess I did ‘like the book more than I thought! I think that the whole thing was that the book really wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, a nuts and bolts book on how to reimagine your life, but rather it’s a book that through the stories of those who have done it,  what you can do, if  you try…. maybe Michael J Fox sums it up best….

“Jane Pauley is a wonderful guide to all the different ways you can open new doors in life, many of which lead to unexpected places. She shows with humor and a great generosity of spirit why the journey to reinvention can come from all kinds of places and produce all kinds of joys”

then there’s Jim Lehrer who writes….

“Well, here it is – finally. The guide for baby boomers on getting from here to there – from a state of panic over how to live the rest of their lives to a state of passion and performance as they do so  with grace and pleasure. Read it and then go!!

While I still don’t have a plan about what I am going to do with the rest of my life, this book certainly made me think about what may be possible and that maybe now, instead of doing the work that I HAD to do, I can do the work that I WANT to do! (Figuring out what that is – is still  my problem!) Anyway, the book should be checked out by all us boomers!!

Book 30 for 2014

Exploring Dan Harris’ Quest to up his happiness in 10% Happier!!

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10 - HappierSo I finally finished Dan Harris’ book 10% Happier:How I Tame the Voice Inside My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge and Found Self-Help that Actually Works – A True Story  and it must say something about how  I feel about the book that it took me, probably, about a month to read a 221 page book, 237 pages if you count the appendix!! I guess if I realized that it was actually more of a biography than a self-help book it would have helped with my enjoyment of the book. However, as I wanted for the methods and things that I could do to reduce that voice inside my head, all I got really was another story about Dan’s quest to discover more about Buddhism and Mindful Meditation.

Now the stories were good mind you, mostly because Harris has through his job direct access to all the big names, so there were  stories about interviews and question sessions that Dan had with the likes of Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra, and Mark Epstein along with having the money to pay for a nine-day retreat, all of which is something that I think we all wish we could have!!

But with that being said, I did enjoy the book and it did provide insight in to the benefits of meditation. some of which I am trying to put into practice, (Note to self go quickly back through the book and pick out the things of which you write!)

Anyway, here are a couple of the praise for the book from the back cover of the book….

“An enormously smart, clear-eyed, brave-hearted, and quite personal look at the benefits of meditation that offers new insights as to how the ancient practice can help modern lives while avoiding the pitfall of cliché. This is a book that will help people, simply put ” – Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

 

“With startling , provocative, and often very funny candor, Dan Harris tells the story of why he urgently needed to tame the  voice inside his head and how he did it. His argument for the power of mindfulness – which he bases both on cutting edge science and his own hard-won experience – will convince even the most skeptical of reader of meditation’s potential.” – Gretchen Rubin

As I was typing these two quotes, I found myself saying yes, i agree with that…..so if you are like me and want to quiet that voice in your head then check this book out and hopefully the final percentage of increased happiness will be above the 10% from the title of the book!!

Book 27 for 2014 (Edward has to pick up the pace!)

 

A Happiness Project Update and Books 28 and 29 of 2012

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Month One of My Happiness Project: Lessons Learned

So here’s the thing — after my first month of this happiness project, I’ve discovered I am terrible at keeping up with a daily resolution chart. Big, colorful tracker? Totally neglected.

But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been working on my resolutions. Over the last 20 days I’ve:

  • Exercised regularly – running three times a week
  • Tweaked my eating habits – whole wheat bagels with cream cheese for breakfast, walnuts back on my cereal, even switched to natural waffles
  • Cleared and reorganized – tossed and stored things I no longer need, including some paperback books I’ll never read (gasp!). I even moved a bookshelf so those “someday” books aren’t staring me down every day. Turns out constant guilt doesn’t make me happy.

I’ve also tackled some long-overdue tasks, like bringing home the last of my mom’s things from the care home.

The one thing I haven’t done so well? Going to bed earlier. But I have been more energetic — and acting like it — so I’m counting that as a win.

Book 28: The Evelyn Wood Seven-Day Speed Reading and Learning Program — Stanley D. Frank

The Evelyn Wood Seven-Day Speed Reading and Learning Program

I found this in the 75% off bin at Barnes & Noble for $1.86 — which made me happy before I even opened it.

The theory: reading faster could help me get to some of those relocated bookshelf titles. The book leans heavily toward study skills and would be most useful if I were still in school, but the speed reading tips are solid. With practice, I think I can boost my reading speed. Whether I’ll ever hit the 800–900 wpm range? Probably not. But I’ll be happy trying.

Book 29: Your Playlist Can Change Your Life — Galina Mindlin, Don Durousseau & Joseph Cardillo

Your Playlist Can Change Your Life

According to the authors, the right music can boost memory, organization, alertness, mood, and more. Using some of their ideas, I’ve already built a few playlists:

  • Calm Me Down – R. Carlos Nakai, Gary Burton, plus a little contemplative folk
  • Pick Me Up – Greensky Bluegrass, Ten Years After, Faces
  • Memory Boost – Songs with deep personal connections:
    • Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel (our wedding)
    • Morning Has Broken – Cat Stevens (our wedding)
    • The Stranger Song – Leonard Cohen (our first date)
    • Elvira – Oak Ridge Boys (our oldest son dancing as a little boy)

It’s a library book, but between the ideas and the results so far, I’m tempted to grab a copy with my Amazon birthday money.

Takeaway: If you’re stuck in a rut, try building a playlist around a mood or memory. It’s a quick, inexpensive happiness boost — and you might just dance in the kitchen.

My Playlists from Your Playlist Can Change Your Life

  • Calm Me Down – R. Carlos Nakai, Gary Burton, plus a little contemplative folk
  • Pick Me Up – Greensky Bluegrass, Ten Years After, Faces
  • Memory Boost – Songs with deep personal connections:
    • Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel (our wedding)
    • Morning Has Broken – Cat Stevens (our wedding)
    • The Stranger Song – Leonard Cohen (our first date)
    • Elvira – Oak Ridge Boys (our oldest son dancing as a little boy)

Book 27 of 2012 – Throw Out Fifty Things:Clear the Clutter Find Your Life!

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So after reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, I’ve started my own happiness project. I started at the beginning of this month, and started where Gretchen started, with Energy and Vitality. As part of the project, you create a series of resolutions to work on each month, and keep track of whether or not you have kept those resolutions on a daily basis, by making either an X for no, or a check for yes on a chart. While I am not doing well at keeping the chart, I have been working on the resolutions a little every day!

Gretchen points out in her book, that one of the biggest drains on energy is clutter, so one of her first resolutions was to Toss, Restore and Organize. I have been doing fairly well with this resolution and I’ve tossed quite a few things! Additionally, I read Gail Blanke’s book Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter, Find your Life , which is Book 27 for 2012! The book is a great read and provides a usable framework for clearing the physical clutter from both your home and office, as well as, the mental mess!  The last part of the book addresses what you do after you’ve cleared away all that clutter and CAN finally see your life!!

There were a several chapters in Part Three of the book, Attacking the Mental Mess that really struck home like: Chapter 11 Letting of Feeling Inadequate, Irrelevant and Just Plain Not good Enough, Chapter 13 Letting Go of Regrets and Mistakes of the Past, and particularly Chapter 16 Letting Go of Thinking the Worst!  It’s nice to know  that other people suffer from Thinking the Worst. I made myself crazy worrying about a projet this winter and early spring – irrationally fearing the worst only to have everything work out ok!! Got to let it go!

Now while I’m finished reading the book, I am not finished with the book. I’ve got 21 more days in October to work on my resolutions and part of that time will be spent using the workbook I found at Throwoutfiftythings.com, and I know I’m going to throw out way more than fifty things!!! Here’s Gail talking about throwing out fifty things!!


Find more videos like this on Throw Out Fifty Things

Book 25 of 2012 – The Happiness Project – Gretchen Rubin

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One day while riding on a bus Gretchen Rubin realized that her life was passing her by and while she was happy, she wasn’t as happy  she could be,  so she decided to dedicate a year to trying to be happier.  Book 25 of 2012 The Happiness Project or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closers,Fight Right,Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun chronicles that year of discovery and provides a blueprint for readers to start their own happiness project!

The Happiness Project consisted of focusing each month on an aspect of her life, then making resolutions about that aspect, followed by grading how well she did each day keeping those resolutions! As an example in January her goal was to boost her energy, knowing that when she felt more energetic it was easier to be happy! Her resolutions included: Go to sleep earlier, Exercise better, Toss, store and organize, Tackle a nagging task and Act more energetic. Then using the works of various authors on happiness she explores happiness and  how to pursue it, as she tackles each resolution! In March the goal was to Aim Higher-Work and one resolution was to Launch a Blog and The Happiness Project was born!

The First Splendid Truth, which she discovered in the second month of her voyage into happiness was: To be happy, I need to think about feeling good, felling bad, feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth.  To me this sums it all up. First, you have to concentrate on those things that you do or use to do that make you happy and strengthen them, then you need to focus on eliminating your actions that make you feel bad (like procrastination, nagging, etc). Next you need to be feeling right by doing things that are aligned with your core values. Feeling right is about living the life that is right for you, in occupation, location, marital status and so  on.   Finally, you need to be putting everything together “in an atmosphere of growth”. Here she uses a quote from Yeats “Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing”  She points out “Contemporary researchers make the same argument that it isn’t goal attainment but the process of striving after goals that is, growth – that brings happiness.”

I certainly understand this argument, I’ve worked at the same job for thirty years but through most of that time I was growing and learning. First I needed to learn as much as I could about soil as I could, to design septic systems.Later to delineate wetlands, I needed to know more about hydric soil coupled with vegetation identification i.e tree, shrub and herbaceous plants. Along the way, I also needed to know the geology and hydrology of New Jersey, AutoCad and all the environmental laws and regulations that govern development in New Jersey! So while I was working at the same place I was always doing something a little different,hence, I was always  growing and not unhappy!

The main reason that I picked up the book was that while I am not unhappy, I do feel that I could be happier and after reading the book, I know I can be happier and I now have a blueprint to follow to help me get there! Now I only have to make myself do it!!  Anyone want to join me?  Check out the book and see if it’s “feels right” for you! It does for me!