Weekend Reads

I'll just be honest here;  I hate this summer.

Anyone who has spent any time around me lately already knows this.  The heat, the work, the vacation-less weekends have seriously gotten to me... and not in a good way.  I've been borderline depressed, and it really depends on the day as to which side of that line I am standing.

So, it will surprise no one that while at Schulers on Friday night, I picked up a book that intrigued me.  Yes, it was considered a "self-help" (of course it was, you're thinking), but this book is unlike any self-help book I have ever read, and quite frankly it's a train wreck and I can't look away.

This is How by Augusten Burroughs is nothing short of brilliant, and sad, and funny, and open-your-eyes honest.  You will see things a different way, and most likely throw away every other self-help book you have ever read.

"If you spend twenty years trying to get something and you still don't have it, is it admirable to keep trying?  Or did you pass admirable several miles back and it's getting close to straightjacket time?"

This is his take on the losing weight mindset.

He covers every subject imaginable, and even some you don't ever imagine.
But you sit and read about it anyways.  Because you can't stop reading once you start.  It has more common sense than a book should have, and is absolutely a book that will put things in perspective.

It's not for everyone.  But if you've ever had a bad day, a life trauma, a question about life, you might just find what you're looking for here.

His honesty is a breath of fresh air... even in the middle of the hottest summer in Michigan's history.

baggage

My least favorite thing about vacations might be the moment we get home, and the suitcase will sit there waiting to be cleaned out for days - okay, sometimes a week.  Two weeks max.

I simply dread that instant 3 loads of laundry you'll get when you empty it, or having to figure out what's clean or dirty.  Then having to put the summer stuff away because you won't need it for months, blah, blah, blah.

It's adding insult the the fact that your vacation ended and real life begins again.  Our baggage will sit in our walkway by the desk, daring us to not trip over it for that time.  Our baggage mocks us.

As I'm starting the 8 Weeks challenge, I'm noticing our personal baggage does the same thing.  It's in the way, whether we know it or not, and time and time again, we'll trip over it during our normal day.  You'll catch a song, or read a quote, or maybe see someone at a distance that triggers a memory.  A not-so-good memory and boom, we're pissed off, sad, or doubtful again (circle one).  We are constantly stubbing our toe on our personal baggage, and most of the time we don't even realize why we're mad.  We just go about our day, taking out our mood swing on everyone around us.

I truly think that once we clean out the baggage once and for all, these mood "shifts" will subside, and you can get on with your day dealing with the task at hand.  Life is tough enough on a daily basis without past memories haunting us.  It's time to put the luggage away, let go of the past, and keep the happy memories in a very special corner where you can reach them any time.

They don't call it forgive and forget for no reason.  Forgive yourself or someone else, and let it be something that makes you stronger instead of tearing you down.

Now empty that suitcase!

8 Weeks

Okay, work with me here. 

I am officially putting it out there and starting a new book~ writing one this time, not reading. 

"Is this wise?" you might ask since it's 13 days from the show, but I'm trying an experiment first with this one. 

One of the main characters is going to be a very famous self-help guru with many best selling books.  One book, 8 Weeks To a Better Life has been on the NYT list for six months. 

What I'd like to do (with all my self-help knowledge) is create a list of things for 8 weeks, that could in fact, change your life.  So essentially, I'm creating a book inside a book.  You know I love a challenge. 

So, I'm going to create the list, give us weekly to-do's, and see what happens.  Feel free to work along with me.  I just think this will make more sense if the 'weeks' create actual change. 

Week 1:  Let go of the past.

I think we all have had that moment when we realized that we were holding ourselves back based on some event in our past.  We all have a past, and times we would rather forget.  This week is about first remembering them, then letting them go.  There are many ways to let them go, and for the record, once you do the weight will be lifted.  Here are some ideas:

1.  First thing in the morning write about the events that you need to let go.  There might be one or there might be twenty-three.  Get up each morning, and write them down on loose leaf paper. Describe them in detail, expressing how you felt because of them.  At the end of the week you will destroy them.  Burn them, shred them, crumple up and toss.  The choice is yours, but once they are gone, you will let them be in the past. 

Maybe the past is like an anchor holding us back. Maybe you have to let go of who you were to become who you will be. ~ Carrie Bradshaw

2.  Write down each regretful moment and leave space to write under each one.  Once that is done, write how the new you (the one today) would have reacted or responded.  Accept the fact that the past is the past, and your heart and head are wiser now.  Read them each day to understand that you are not the same person anymore.

3.  Get a stack of post its and a sharpie.  Write down every stinking moment you hate in your life.  If you only have a few, you're lucky!  Each sticky note gets it's own drama.  Stick them in a place where you can see them, but only you (inside a notebook or journal works).  We don't need anyone else judging you at this time.  When you're done, look and study each note.  Relive that moment if you can and remember how you felt.  Once you're ready to let it go and forgive, throw the note away.  The goal is to be rid of them by the end of the week.  Sometimes we need to forgive ourselves.  Sometimes we need to forgive others.  You may even want to write a letter to someone letting them know how you feel today, and how that moment changed you. 

You can do one of these or all of these.  Forgiveness is the key to making this work.  Sometimes we just have to write and figure out who/what it is we are trying to forgive and forget. 

So whaddaya think??  I am going to try all three just to see how this works.  And if you're curious, I did make these all up, as well as the weekly challenges.  What can I say, self-help has consumed my life, and it's about time I used it. 

Have a fabulous week!!  Week one begins NOW.