Is your life as fulfilling as you envisioned it would be? Or do you feel the tug of discontent...the yawn of stagnation...the sense that joy is being sapped away by looming difficulties and everyday stresses. Perhaps life even seems to be unfolding beyond your control. You're not alone if you do. Chance, chaos, and adversity are constant forces in everyone's life. But amidst the inevitable challenges, you have the power to make choices. And through wise, positive choices, you have the power to change your life. Step by step, choice by choice, this book shows how to take charge of your life by making conscious choices that promote optimum physical and emotional well-being.
Complete with personal stories, real-life examples, and revealing exercises, LIFE BY DESIGN helps you pinpoint the values that are truly and uniquely yours; set specific, attainable goals, and align your goals with your actions; learn how to use exercise as a power generator; break free of limiting perspectives and self-defeating behaviors; make positive choices that neutralize the negativity in your life, work to build a lasting, loving relationship with your partner, and more.
Let LIFE BY DESIGN guide you to new attitudes and habits that will give you more energy, richer relationships, and a better quality of life. Dr. Rick Kirschner and Dr. Rick Brinkman are practicing naturopathic physicians and the co-owners of the training and consulting firm R&R Productions, Inc. They are also co-authors of the best-selling DEALING WITH PEOPLE YOU CAN'T STAND, as well as numerous audio and video programs. Dr. Kirschner lives in Ashland, Oregon. Dr. Brinkman lives in West Linn, Oregon.
Preface
The world is changing at a faster and faster pace. Social and
cultural systems are all in a jumble. It may seem to you that the world
is coming together and falling apart simultaneously, because it is.
While you can find an abundance of prophecies and projections about what
the future holds, the problem with predicting the future is that it
changes as soon as you predict it. Every day brings new announcements
about old systems in decay, exciting breakthroughs, and scary surprises,
and no one really knows what will happen next. This fast-paced
acceleration is intense for almost everyone.
Amid so much uncertainty, this much is certain: If you don't choose what
you want in life, life will choose for you. To experience fulfillment in
a mixed-up world, you've got to make wise choices. And this is what we
invite you and help you to do in Life by Design.
Beginning with Part 1, "Choosing Fulfillment," we will explore the
choices that form the basis of a meaningful life and the essential
skills for holding your focus and turning your hopes and dreams into
reality. Even after charting a course in life, there are plenty of ways
to miss out on happiness. As a human being, you're a creature of habit.
Your habits can distract you, disrupt you, even destroy your best
intentions. The force of habit can make you waste your precious
resources on meaningless temptations and mindless traps that add nothing
of value to the quality of your life. Yet habits can also serve and
support you, remind you of who you are and where you're going when
everything around you appears to be moving in the opposite direction.
All too often, low energy, or even worse, no energy, are the inhibitors
of happiness and fulfillment that people use to justify their meager
existence. Yet energy, too, is in great part the result of the force of
habit, and you have more access to more than enough energy for living
fully. Since every choice you make eliminates other sets of choices
entirely, it only makes sense to develop the habits that maximize your
energy and enhance your quality of life. In Part 2, "Choices about
Habits and Energy," we will provide you with tools for getting the
habits in place that can support and sustain you in living your life by
design.
Life can be hard, and nobody gets out of here alive. When it comes to
living wisely, you can't just "duck and cover." Regardless of your
gender, age, income, or intelligence, everyone faces challenges in the
course of living. While you can anticipate and take action to prevent
some of life's difficulties, many are sudden by nature. An unexpected
event -- whether a fire, a flood, or the illness of a loved one -- can
change your trajectory in a heartbeat. Ambivalent or ambitious, you
can't avoid the challenges of life, and how you choose to deal with them
is entirely up to you. Your attitudes determine how you take care of
yourself when confronted by adversity, whether you get bogged down in
negativity or rise above it, and the degree of your engagement or
complacency when the going gets tough. In Part 3, "Choices about
Attitudes," you will learn attitudinal strategies for living your life
by design when faced with life's challenges.
No one is an island, and isolation is deadly to the human spirit. What
is the benefit of a life by design when there's no one to share it with?
You need friendship and assistance to nourish you and bring your visions
to life, and you need support to get you through the hard times.
Introduction: The Triangle of Choice.
Part I: Choosing Fulfillment.
Making a Stand.
Standing Strong.
Facing Forward.
Charting a Course.
Holding Your Focus.
Lightening Your Load.
Getting Off the Fence.
Part II: Choices About Habits and Energy.
Changing Your Habits.
Learning Your Lessons.
Energizing Your Energy.
Increasing Your Power.
Part III: Choices About Attitudes.
Making Up Your Mind.
Shattering Your Chains.
Neutralizing Negativity.
Dealing with Adversity.
Making Some Progress.
Cultivating Healthy Attitudes.
Part IV: Choices About Relationships.
Connecting with Yourself.
Building Bridges. Loving for Life.
Part V: Choices About the World.
Knowing the World.
Owning the World.
Dr. Rick Kirschner and Dr. Rick Brinkman are practicing naturopathic physicians and the co-owners of the training and consulting firm R&R Productions, Inc. They are also co-authors of the bestselling Dealing With People You Can't Stand.
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