What caught my eye when I was considering reading Amy Morin’s “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do” was (1) the title and (2) these chapter headings:
CHAPTER 1 THEY DON’T WASTE TIME FEELING SORRY FOR THEMSELVES
CHAPTER 2 THEY DON’T GIVE AWAY THEIR POWER
CHAPTER 3 THEY DON’T SHY AWAY FROM CHANGE
CHAPTER 4 THEY DON’T FOCUS ON THINGS THEY CAN’T CONTROL
CHAPTER 5 THEY DON’T WORRY ABOUT PLEASING EVERYONE
CHAPTER 6 THEY DON’T FEAR TAKING CALCULATED RISKS
CHAPTER 7 THEY DON’T DWELL ON THE PAST
CHAPTER 8 THEY DON’T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES OVER AND OVER
CHAPTER 9 THEY DON’T RESENT OTHER PEOPLE’S SUCCESS
CHAPTER 10 THEY DON’T GIVE UP AFTER THE FIRST FAILURE
CHAPTER 11 THEY DON’T FEAR ALONE TIME
CHAPTER 12 THEY DON’T FEEL THE WORLD OWES THEM ANYTHING
CHAPTER 13 THEY DON’T EXPECT IMMEDIATE RESULTS
Do I do some of those items? Yep. Well maybe not fearing alone time (introverts like me enjoy that). But the others resonated with me. So I wanted to read more.
The above chapter headings could be pinned on a wall and give me enough motivation to avoid sinking into those nasty 12 habits. But Morin’s book is much more than chapter headings. I liked how she encourages the reader to frame the challenging times in your life in a positive light. “You can view the events that happen in your life in many different ways,” she writes. “If you choose to view circumstances in a way that says, ‘I deserve better,’ you’ll feel self-pity often. If you choose to look for the silver lining, even in a bad situation, you’ll experience joy and happiness much more often.”
Morin speaks from personal experience, as she details early in the book how she lost her mother, then her husband, unexpectedly. Working through this grief resulted in the recommendations she gives in her book.
I also liked how Morin interspersed quotes from other wise souls. Such as:
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” —MAYA ANGELOU
“Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.” —LAO TZU
“We do not heal the past by dwelling there; we heal the past by living fully in the present.” —MARIANNE WILLIAMSON
If you find yourself slipping into negative “woa is me” type of thinking I recommend “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do” for motivation to get you back on a positive path of living.
