A MINI SELF HELP COURSE

I have been a self-help junkie for more years than I care to admit, because I should be beyond perfect by now if I practiced everything I read.  To say that any particular book "changed my life" would be an exaggeration at best.  To say a book has influenced my life in a positive way is very true!  You see, the problem is, that while I love to read any type of self-help, self awareness, motivational material, the only thing I do is read.  When I encounter any type of exercise or worksheet within the pages, I tell myself that I will read the book in it's entirety, (which I actually do), and then I will go back and do the exercises, (which I do not).  So, I guess that is why they are not life changing for me because I do not take action and follow through. 

So I created my own self-help exercise on a mini scale that made sense to me and did not take a commitment of six weeks and giving up alcohol to complete.  I asked myself three simple questions:

1.  What do I want more of in my life?      2.  What do I want less of in my life?

3.  What actions can I take daily to acomplish these goals?

So I proceeded to list my top 5 wants and top 5 un-wants, which was really quite easy because the wants automatically created the un-wants by just being the opposite.  Below are my results:

Top 5 Wants                                                              Top 5 Un-wants

1.  Freedom of Time                                                  1.  Time Constraints
2.  Healthy energy                                                      2.  Lethargy
3.  Security & Abundance                                          3.  Worry & Fear
4.  Social Good                                                           4.  Social fears
5.  Peace of mind                                                        5.  Mental turmoil

ACTIONS: 

1. Focus less on material "stuff" and more on freedom = peace of mind.
2. Simplify life = security and abundance.
3. Focus on being in the now = alleviate fears and worry of past or future. 
     Less mental turmoil.
4.  Let go of thoughts of what others may think, it is all imagined anyway.
5. No judgement of self.

Concentrating on these do-able actions daily will accomplish my goals in short order and will allow me the free time that I crave to spend, you guessed it, reading more self-help books while sipping a wonderful glass of wine.  Now that is my idea of a life well lived. 

I believe that even Oprah would agree with that.

Try this mini exercise for yourself and see what path it may lead you to...happy exploring of self!

                      Bright Blessings to all who wander this way