I came across this book while browsing books on the library website and borrowed it, thinking, hmm, OK and it turns out it's ...really good.
And I'm finding myself wanting to ...practice what it preaches...
9 Things You Simply Must Do To Succeed In Love and Life by Henry Cloud
A Psychologist Learns from His Patients What Really Works and What Doesn't
And I'm feeling inspired ...more than I am by having seen a therapist twice now (well, this time around.)
And I feel the need to document, in writing, the 9 things ...so here goes:
(Deja Vu People)
Principle 1: Dig It Up
There is no shortage of things in life that can cause you to bury your heart and soul
...Your job is to dig it all up and then do one of two things: sow it or throw it away...
Principle 2: Pull the Tooth
Facing things that truly are negative and either fixing them or figuring out that they they can't be fixed and letting them go.
Either the {dental work} is done or the teeth are pulled. Either the broken car is fixed or the tow truck is called. Either the movie channels are watched or they are canceled.
...anything that is negative...either working on it and not allowing it to remain negative ...or realizing that there is no hope and moving on.
Successful people do not hang on to bad stuff for long
Let it go. Move on. Pull the tooth.
Wishing vs. hoping.
Principle 3: Play the Movie
What will happen in the end?
The future will come. ...Three years from now...That date is coming period. It is not optional. Three years from now will come and you will be alive. I repeat, The three years is not optional. It is going to come and pass. You will be here. ...and since that day is going to come three years from now, on that day do you want...to still be hating your life?
...The movie is not optional , but where its plot-line goes is.
Principle 4: Do Something
Doesn't matter what the cause is...if it rains, you didn't cause that...but it is your head that gets soaked if you don't come in out of the rain or open up an umbrella...
It does not matter whether they think they are to blame or not. They will ask themselves, What can I do to make things better?
Principle 5: Act Like an Ant
Principle 6: Hate Well
Principle 7: Don't Play Fair
(hmm, I haven't gotten this far yet.)
Principle 8: Be Humble
Principle 9: Upset the Right People
(Becoming a Deja Vu Person)
☯☯☯☯☯☯☯☯
And right now I'm making a list of my current financial obligations. I need to look them straight in the eye and deal with them.
I may not be able to deal with all of my ...issues right now but I could deal with one of them and by getting these bills paid, I can breathe a bit better (OK, so maybe the therapy is helping too. So far there's been a lot of talk about breathing and being here in the present.)
So Stay Tuned. Apparently it's time to Get My Shit Together time again.
Musings from a big and beautiful sometimes "drama queen" on her current state of existence
What's It All About?
"The unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates
While you’re here, in this time and in this space, you are beautiful and you are perfect.
You are right where you need to be to get to where you want to go, so start asking yourself where you want to go.
Noire
She'll be 2 years in 2 months! Time flies!
Things I'm grateful for everyday....
- My family
- My friends, old and new.
- A roof over my head.
- My computer & internet access
- Being employed (even if I don't always like things about my job)
- The public library and the joy of borrowing books with/on/for my Kindle
- That I can walk on two legs, use 2 arms/hands, have ten fingers/toes, can see and hear, etc. (uh, no offense to anyone who is physically challenged)
- Other people's creativity and efforts
- The love of a good man (he IS good)
- My friends, old and new.
- A roof over my head.
- My computer & internet access
- Being employed (even if I don't always like things about my job)
- The public library and the joy of borrowing books with/on/for my Kindle
- That I can walk on two legs, use 2 arms/hands, have ten fingers/toes, can see and hear, etc. (uh, no offense to anyone who is physically challenged)
- Other people's creativity and efforts
- The love of a good man (he IS good)
Current Favorite Quotes
“Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” - Lao Tzu
"The privilege of a lifetime is to be who you are." ~ Joseph Campbell
"Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some." ~ Charles Dickens
"We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same." -Carlos Castañeda
"..there’s something lovely about knowing that when it’s right, you really know it’s right because you’ve already been through all the wrong." ~ Sade
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." ~ Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss)
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." —Mark Twain
(This bit not so much as a quote but somethings I wrote down that I want to keep and this looks like a good place to do it)
7-25-07
1. Almost everything comes from almost nothing.
2. The best way to predict your future is to create it.
3. Leap and the net will appear.
"The privilege of a lifetime is to be who you are." ~ Joseph Campbell
"Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some." ~ Charles Dickens
"We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same." -Carlos Castañeda
"..there’s something lovely about knowing that when it’s right, you really know it’s right because you’ve already been through all the wrong." ~ Sade
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." ~ Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss)
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." —Mark Twain
(This bit not so much as a quote but somethings I wrote down that I want to keep and this looks like a good place to do it)
7-25-07
1. Almost everything comes from almost nothing.
2. The best way to predict your future is to create it.
3. Leap and the net will appear.
Facts of Life (per Sonya Friedman)
- 1. No one can bring your life to you
- 2. No matter what you do, someone important isn't going to like it
- 3. Though painful, rejection won't kill you - it may even lead to growth
- 4. Every choice means giving up something different
- 5. Some people aren't capable of giving you what you're trying to get from them
- 6. The way you treat yourself sets the standard for others
- 7. There are no quick fixes that can permanently change your life
- 8. Life is on a rheostat, not an on/off switch
- 9. Some problems cannot be solved - but you can make peace with them