Book Review - Published in Positive Health Magazine Issue 138 |
Three Steps to Enjoying Life
By Sue Ricks
Published by Barney Books. 2006 Paperback £6.99 978-1-903172-78-0
Reviewed by Anthony Aurelius
Upon picking up this small book I was curious about what it would offer me. I was pleasantly surprised. I have coached many clients over the years with personal difficulties, in particular the change their attitude from negative programming from their parents, to a more positive outlook. This change is so important for their health, happiness and long-term health. This book gives a very simple, yet very effective strategy to achieve a more positive outlook and more enjoyment in your life.
Sue Ricks has put together a simple, but fruitful book on just how to change your thinking and focus on the positive parts of yourself. It definitely hits the mark and achieves what I feel it has been written to achieve. It teaches simple, yet very effective mental strategies to draw on, both in times of need, and to make to make you more self aware of your attributes. Reading this will increase your self-esteem, and therefore happiness. It is so easy to focus on what is not going right in life, on the negative, so we all need reminders to appreciate our strengths and qualities. This small book accomplishes just that.
Sue’s book starts with a beautiful, carefully thought out introduction that touched me deeply. I was pleasantly surprised and gripped to read on.
I then continued to read this book slowly while waiting for my girlfriend to finish college. I will never fail to appreciate how lucky I am to have her in my life. She is beautiful, amazing and constantly inspires my to keep on growing. Although I am a very well experienced professional coach, I often forget to appreciate my own qualities and strengths.
Over an hour I really enjoyed doing the simple, straightforward exercises and reading the flowing text. Not only did I enjoy immensely the read, but this book also helped me to become less intellectual, and more heart centred on this day. Something everyone in the world needs and can benefit from being.
Too often books written to help you with your personal development over intellectualise life, and how to do it. This book avoids this pitfall. Every month I encourage clients to rewrite out what is really important to them. One of the main problems with modern living is we are all focusing on accomplishing the urgent, and not focusing on what is really important to us.
If you take just an hour out and read Sue Ricks book, this may well not only help you to learn a great strategy to implement into your life long term; you may also stop in your tracks for a moment, stop focusing on the urgent and realise how you can gain a more peaceful state of mind and reprioritise what is important to you.
Today, with so much illness in the world, much of what I feel is caused by our state of mind, it is important that we do all take a step back from what we are constantly doing and take a look at:
1.Our mental state;
2.What we can do to improve this.
I would therefore wholeheartedly recommend purchasing and reading this simple, yet heat warming book to everybody. By going through Sue’s exercises you will appreciate yourself more, your life, and that will impact on your mental health and therefore happiness. This book, and books like it should be given to all Doctors, and especially young children in schools. A positive mental outlook is prerequisite for your happiness and health.
Sue Ricks is like us all, she is learning. But more than that she is trying to contribute to others through her work. Take an hour out to read this book and it will surely change your life for the better.
