Reading📚 ¥ÖÚ ÄRÈ Ä ßÄÐħ§ (ₜₒₜₐₗₗy ₐwₑₛₒₘₑ)

You Are A Badass Introduction Author Jen Sincero found herself in a boring, repetitive rut, unable to get out. Like many people, she tried everything: self-help seminars, books, and even a career coach. She had difficulty making consistent money and being happy. But now, after her first coaching experience, Jen has fallen in love with her life and makes money that allows her to live the life she wants and travel the world. She wants you to know that you can unlock your potential too. Think of all the people in the world who are successful and creative. Those who radiate self-love and abundance. These types of people are essential to our world, essential to the well-being of our species, and for future generations. And you can become one of these people. Jen Sincero invites you to believe that we live in a world of limitless possibilities. Throughout You Are A Badass, keep an open mind, put disbelief aside, take some risks, and truly go for it!

Chapter 1: How You Got This Way “You are a victim of the rules you live by.” Think about it. Growing up you’re constantly told how to think about almost every aspect of your life. Your parents, or whoever raised you, teach you lessons based on their own beliefs and construct a version of reality that you trust and believe in. For instance, if you’re consistently told that no one in your family has graduated from college, you log messages like this into the back of your mind, into your subconscious and you conclude that you can never graduate from college. You see, your subconscious becomes a blueprint of your life, but you have the power to change it. So what is holding you back? You. The way you think about yourself. But there’s good news. While Jen realizes that everyone has different beliefs, she wants you to know that there is a higher power rooting for you. Call it the Universe, The Force, or The Motherlode, but the Universe is there and Jen believes that if you are honest and clear about what you want and take decisive actions, then you have the power to manifest your dreams.

If you’re rolling your eyes, then think about it this way. The Universe is working when we have those really good days, those days where you feel like you can accomplish anything and leave you on a high. So even on those days when we feel like the world is against us, we must continue to have faith, we must continue to believe. Our faith must be greater than our fear. Speaking of fear, our fear is what Jen calls The Big Snooze or BS. The Big Snooze acts as the monster inside you that believes you will fail. Those mornings when you oversleep, spill your coffee, forget your lunch, and leave you feeling like you can’t possibly accomplish anything for the rest of the day, that’s your Big Snooze talking. The Big Snooze is that person in your life who tells you your dreams are too big, telling you that you can’t. It holds you back by telling you that you’re satisfied with your life and that you’re making enough money, but you can accomplish more. Whether inside yourself or someone around you, Big Snooze is trying to sabotage your progress and keep everything as it is. The best way to grow and to leave the place you are in is by murdering the Big Snooze. Not literally, don’t murder your mother who questions every decision you make. Instead, obtain courage, faith, and trust that the results of your efforts will be worth it. Believe that even if you encounter obstacles along the way, stay on course, the end result will be worth it.

Chapter 2: Love Yourself From birth, we have an instinctual understanding of the important basics in life and we find ourselves doing what makes us happy like singing aloud and dancing like no one is watching. Children experience genuine happiness, but as we grow older we develop fear. We stop listening to that instinctual understanding and instead listen to others around us: our friends, family, and society. We think we have to live up to others' expectations, so we live how others want us to. We take jobs or enter relationships that we think will make us happy because of what people expect of us. Throughout our teenage years and well into our 20s, we allow other people’s opinions to shape our actions. If you can let go of those opinions, you can act how you want and do the things that take you in the direction you want. Learn to love yourself and you can begin your journey to improve your life.

This might be a hard transition, and learning to love yourself can take time. Begin by reciting self-love mantras like “I can do this,” “I deserve the best,” and “I am smart and beautiful.” Recite them in the mirror when you wake up in the morning, replay them in your head as you go about your day, or better yet, write them down! Write them on Post-Its and place them where you can see them every day to remind yourself how great you are. Learning how to not care what others think may sound easy, but becomes much more difficult when you try to put it into practice. Here are some tips to help you: Ask yourself why you do it and say what you do. Notice where the motivation comes from. Always do your best. Half-assing something will open you up to insecurity and doubt. Trust your gut. It’s an incredible guidance tool that you can always use. Find a temporary role model to model your behavior after. Love yourself!

Listen to outside criticism and compliments, but reflect on who you are and how you can improve. Don’t take criticism personally, think about it as an opportunity to learn about yourself. Jen tells the story of going backpacking in the most remote areas of Utah with her friends. Throughout their trek, she and her friends met a man wearing only a loincloth who found modern society too complicated and preferred living off the grid with only what nature could provide him. He was completely unapologetic about who he was and he was happy! So love yourself. Ignore what your colleagues and friends think, your true friends will support you. Lastly, stop comparing yourself to others, you are your own person and you have a special gift to bring to the world. Remember that, own it and love it.

Chapter 3: Tapping Into The Motherlode The Universe, The Force, The Motherlode, even call Him God if that’s what you believe in. The importance of recognizing that there is a higher power is that you can harness that power. Similar to how Obi-Wan and Luke Skywalker use the force to unleash extraordinary abilities, you can harness the energy of the universe as well. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to levitate objects or see into the future as a Jedi, but you can use the limitless energy of the universe to your advantage. As long as you recognize the existence of a higher power or force, you can understand how the universe connects us all. Think about it this way, let’s say the Universe is made up of a Source Energy that vibrates at a specific frequency, and those that vibrate at a similar frequency become attracted to one another. Let’s call this the Laws of Attraction. Have you ever heard the phrase “misery loves company?” The Laws of Attraction are similar. Those that are feeling negative emotions like jealousy or worry vibrate at a low frequency and attract more negative energy. However, by tapping into the positive energy vibrations, you can attract what you want.

At this point, you might be thinking, “sure, let me just use the Jedi Force to tap into this positive energy source,” and that’s okay. But let’s see how you can really tap into this Source Energy or Motherlode. Meditation. Sitting still and thinking about nothing. Sounds easy, right? Well if you’ve never meditated before, you’ll be surprised by just how much your mind wanders and how hard it is to quiet your thoughts. The goal is to quiet your mind and everyday thoughts so that you can connect to Source Energy and listen to your inner self. When you start to connect to Source Energy, you will learn to live in the present, raise your frequencies, open yourself up to unlimited information, relax, and learn to love yourself. Here are some tips to help you become a meditating master: Sit in a comfortable, cross-legged position on the floor, or in a chair with your hands on your knees or in your lap. Sit up straight and relax your jaw and forehead. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Feel it move in and out of your body. Release any thoughts that enter your mind by refocusing on your breathing. Try to meditate first thing in the morning, set your intention, and just show up to practice.

Chapter 4: Lessons For Living a Fulfilling Life You hear it all the time. Life is short. But it’s true, you have only a limited time in your body, so you might as well make the most of it! You should continuously live your dreams no matter what stage of life you are in. Don’t settle for mediocrity because you think that’s what you deserve. Think about the times you were most turned on by life. What can you learn from those times? The first lesson to living a fulfilling life is by embracing something new. Jen shares the story of the band she was in, Crotch. Yes, that was the name of the band. Crotch consisted of herself, her friend, and her younger brother who didn’t quite know how to play instruments, but they had excitement and enthusiasm that led them to several opportunities including managing,producing, and starring in a film; releasing an EP, and obtaining a demo deal. They did all this while having corporate jobs. Jen and her band didn’t quite know what they were doing, but they took each obstacle as an opportunity to learn something new, to make themselves better. Jen says to let your beginner live along next to your expert - take the learning process seriously but always remember to have fun.

The second lesson is to give and let give. One of the greatest joys in life, a fearless and powerful gesture is giving. If you want to attract good vibes and feelings, then you need to send good out into the world. Some ways you can give are by donating to causes that have meaning to you regularly. Give one of your favorite things away to someone who might need it more. Leave more on your tip than you would normally give. Say yes to things you might not usually say yes to. Feel how good it is to not only give but to also receive. The third lesson is gratitude. According to Jen, gratitude keeps the awesomeness flowing. It’s more than just being thankful for what you have, instead, it relies on your awareness of and deep appreciation for the miracles in your daily life. The more consistently you stay grateful and focused on the good, the stronger your connection to Source Energy. If you choose to live in a state of gratitude, then when a desire exists, you are in the proper frequency to receive that desire. Practice gratitude by approaching anything that happens in life with the phrase “This is good because…” It’s important to become grateful in all situations, good or bad. You can also practice gratitude by reflecting on your day and writing down at least ten things that you are thankful for. Maybe you’re thankful the morning rain cleared to reveal a beautiful sunny day, or that you traveled to and from work safely. The final lesson for living a fulfilling life is forgiveness. People betray us, but you may also believe that you have betrayed yourself. Allow yourself to let go of the conflicts and decide you’d rather be happy than harbor resentment. Look at betrayal as an opportunity to learn and grow and shift away from negative feelings. Accept yourself and your mistakes, wipe the slate clean and just forget about it.

Chapter 5: The Power is Within You If you believe that you’re going to fail, then you’re going to fail. But what if I told you that you have the power to change the way you view the world? The power is within yourself. And while it may seem difficult at first, once you realize your path, the rest is easy! The power of your thoughts create realities that can lead you to where you want to go. For instance, once you are clear on your path, then you can plan the steps to take action. Perhaps you want to start a blog, but your fears of failure are holding you back. You begin planning your path by researching your favorite bloggers to examine their journey and find inspiration to create your own path. Remember that no two paths are the same. Once you have a clear path, take action! In other words, fake it until you make it, and simply go out into the world and try.

However, one of the biggest forms of self-sabotage that we find ourselves doing is procrastinating. Some of the biggest lies you tell yourself are that you aren’t qualified or good enough, and that you can’t do it. But why do you say these things? Not because you actually can’t do it, but because you’re scared. Fear is the number one reason for procrastination. Sometimes we spend so much energy coming up with excuses, but if you’re serious about changing your life, then you’ll find a way, not an excuse. If you’re serious about stopping your procrastination, then here are some tips: Remember that something completed is better than perfect. Notice when you stop and then take action to continue the momentum. Make a bet with someone who will hold you accountable. Own it and work with it.

Chapter 6: Mirrors of Your Reality Once you decide to change yourself, you’ll inevitably have plenty of obstacles along the way. From struggling with people not believing in you, to you not believing in yourself, you’ll need to be prepared to go through the ups and downs. But first, it’s important to know how the people you surround yourself with impact how you view yourself. For instance, do you find yourself becoming bothered by people in different areas of your life? Perhaps it’s people at work, in your family, or even a few friends. What about that person who bothers you? Jen believes that people that bother us remind us of something that we don’t like about ourselves. That their behavior might trigger insecurity that we don’t even realize we have. On the other hand, what do you like about the people you like? No matter the type of people you surround yourself with, the people in your life are excellent mirrors for how much, or how little, you love yourself.

At the end of the day, it’s not about other people, it’s about yourself. About believing that you are worthy of being loved and worthy enough to respect yourself. Instead of catering to your need to be liked, start believing in yourself and never apologize for who you are. If you struggle with getting rid of your own projections and judgments, Jen has a few tips. Own your ugly. Start noticing things that drive you crazy about other people and use that as a mirror. Let those moments fascinate you instead of infuriating you. Question your ugly. Once you realize what you’re projecting, you can let it go. Awareness is the key to improving yourself. Eliminate painful people from your life. Sometimes no matter the work you do on yourself, some people are too committed to their own dysfunction. Let those people go.

Chapter 7: How To Kick Some Ass Inevitably you’ll make mistakes along the way, no one gets to the top of a mountain without falling a few times, right? Temporary failures happen all the time. Remember successful people like Michael Jordan and even Steven Spielberg. Michael Jordan didn’t make his high-school basketball team, and Steven Spielberg was rejected from film school three separate times! The only failure is quitting, everything else is just learning from mistakes and gathering information for your next step. One way you can just go for it is by wanting it badly. Desire is the key to pushing through obstacles. If you’re going to push through the hard times, you’ll need the desire and passion to get what you want. It’s not enough to just want it, you’ll need to be excited and go after what you want and hold onto it like a pit bull. Be honest about what you want to do, not what you should do.

Remember that your life is your party. You control the guest list and the experiences that happen. It’s all about showing up every day, having an excellent attitude, doing your best, and celebrating what is working with gratitude and belief that the Universe will manifest what you need. Energy needs to flow or else it becomes stagnant, so surround yourself with positive energy and attract positive energy in return. Surrender yourself to the possibilities of your future and be open to the fact that you may not know exactly what your new reality will look like. This might sound difficult at first, but here are some tips to help you: Become crystal clear on what you desire to manifest See it, feel it, taste it, fall in love with it, believe it is already here Decide you will have it Inform the Universe of your intention by behaving and thinking as if you already have it Meditate, connect with infinite possibilities, your intuition and Source Energy Take joyful, passion-fueled action Be grateful that it’s yours, that it’s already here Breathe, let it go, let in.

If you believe that everything you desire already exists, you will naturally surrender and trust that the Universe will provide. Give it all you got and totally let go. Chapter 8: Final Summary To be the badass you want to be, you need to recognize the power you have within yourself and within the Universe. Once you recognize that there is a higher power within the world, you’ll realize that once you put good energy out into the world, you’ll receive good energy in return. Next, you’ll need to identify exactly what is holding you back and address how you’re going to face your fears. Don’t let failure or procrastination get in the way, express gratitude, and manifest your dreams.

ɠҽƚ ყσυɾ ʂԋ*ƚ ƚσɠҽƚԋҽɾ Learn how to stop worrying about what you should do so you can finish what you need to do and start doing what you want to do. Welcome to Get Your Shit Together, before you keep reading you should know a few… Introduction What’s been your Oh shit moment? We all have one at some point. Perhaps it was the time you checked your bank account balance, only to find it wouldn’t be enough to cover your credit card balance. Or maybe it was when you pulled on your favorite pair of pants and realized they didn’t fit two sizes ago. Or perhaps it was when you woke up to your formerly favorite person, only to realize he or she didn’t fit two years ago. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. For Sarah Knight, her Oh shit moment came when she realized she was unhappy because she didn’t love her job anymore. Even more, she didn’t enjoy the company or even the career that she had chosen to dedicate her life to. This realization was suddenly followed by “What the fuck am I going to do?” and “How the fuck am I going to do it?” Furthermore, Sarah was battling crippling depression that made it difficult to get out of bed in the morning. She felt as if she’d been spending fifteen years climbing the corporate ladder, only to realize she didn’t enjoy it anymore. She finally realized, that “there was so much more she could be doing with her life if she could only stop worrying about what she should be doing.” And once she realized she wanted to work for herself, she never looked back. Now, Sarah has made it her mission to help you face reality and get your shit together. Throughout her book, Sarah aims to teach you “how to approach all the different stuff in your life so you can get it done in your own way, on your own schedule.” By the end, you’ll have your shit together and you’ll be on your way to living the life you want and deserve.

Chapter 1: What Getting Your Shit Together Looks Like So you’re looking to get your shit together, right? But what exactly does that mean? It doesn’t mean filling your calendar with to-do lists and social events, getting it all done while looking perfectly put together, and still managing to get dinner on the table each night. At the end of the day, these people only look like they have their shit together, but they typically sacrifice their mental health in the process. For example, Sarah Knight was that person. One Friday morning, Sarah woke up not feeling well but she decided to get her shit together and go to work anyway, she had things to do! Throughout her NYC subway ride, she stifled her nausea until she was able to get to the office bathroom and vomit in peace. There she was holding her head over the toilet, but nothing happened. She immediately thought, “Oh holy fuck, am I pregnant?” She went back to her office to begin her work, she had her shit together, she could do anything… or so she thought. Suddenly, her arms became numb, and her vision blurred, she stumbled out of the office and pleaded with her friend to call her husband.

After being wheeled out in a wheelchair, the nurse spent the next three hours calming Sarah down and assuring her that she was neither pregnant nor poisoned. Yes, she really thought she could have been poisoned somehow. The nurse suggested that Sarah had experienced a panic attack instead. It was this moment that Sarah realized, “Just because you are doing a ton of shit all day, every day, does NOT mean you have your shit together. It means you are a high-functioning human to-do list potentially on the verge of a total mental and physical collapse.” Instead, getting your shit together means managing your to-do list and calendar in a way that shit that needs doing gets done, and it doesn’t make you go crazy. Sarah calls this “winning at life.” However, in the Game of Life, you are only competing against yourself. Winning at life means you get what you want out of your time here on planet Earth. Perhaps it’s getting the house, job, car, partner, or even the hairstyle of your dreams. It’s what happens when you translate your dreams into actions and live your best life. So how do you do this?

Chapter 2: The Process of Getting Your Shit Together Now that you know what getting your shit together looks like, it’s time to find out “what the process of getting your shit together and winning at life actually looks like.” For Sarah, it was living life in the tropics and working for herself. But for you, it could be getting a promotion, circumnavigating the world in a kayak, or just going one week without drowning in your emails. The beauty is that anything is possible and getting your shit together takes just three steps. 1. Strategize: Set a goal and make a plan to achieve that goal in a series of small, manageable chunks. 2. Focus. Set aside time to complete each chunk. 3. Commit. Do what you need to do to check off your chunks. Sarah’s goal was to have enough money saved up to quit her job, become a freelancer, move to the tropics, and write her first book. It was during this time she got her first book deal, yay! The problem? She had just one month to write 40,000 words. “One motherfucking month.” She wanted to hit her deadline so she made a plan. She determined that she would have to write a certain number of words per day, set aside time each day, sit down, and write the damn thing. She strategized, focused, and committed. That’s what having your shit together looks like.

Similarly, she had to use these same steps when building a house and moving to the Caribbean. She and her husband strategized on what they could afford and how long it would take; focused on small parts of the whole, like applying for loans and corresponding with builders; and committed financially and psychologically to both their overall goal and the smaller mini-goals along the way. Sarah compares having your shit together to an adult coloring book. “You simply work your way through each little section until the big picture materializes before you.” Now, it’s time to keep track of your keys, phone, and wallet. Yes, you should keep track of your real keys, phone, and wallet, but your metaphorical ones as well. “If you can manage to stay on top of these three little life management tools, you can use them to get your metaphorical shit together too.” Your keys are the ability to strategize, they unlock your next steps. Your phone is the ability to focus, make those calls, and mark that calendar. Your wallet represents your commitment, this is when you put your real or metaphorical money where your mouth is, to follow through on your plan. In other words Keys + Phone + Wallet = Shit. Strategy + Focus + Commitment = Together. Shit Together. Think about life like your cell phone. Sure, you may have 25 apps open at once, but you can only use your phone to do one thing at a time. In life, it’s not possible to do more than one thing at a time in general. So it’s time to focus on your small, manageable chunks, just one at a time. Let’s say your goal is to get a new job. Step one is updating your résumé. Step two is grabbing your real or metaphorical phone and scheduling that step. Step three is setting aside an hour on Saturday for résumé updating. It’s all about giving yourself the time and space to do the shit that needs doing to get you closer to your goal.

Chapter 3: Begin With the Small Shit As you know by now, breaking things up into small, manageable chunks is the best way to keep things “ultra manageable” for you. Therefore, Sarah suggests beginning with the small shit, “Stuff you have to deal with regularly, like being on time and not getting distracted and staying on top of your email.” Once you can get the small stuff together, life becomes infinitely easier. Then you can begin managing the bigger stuff. You see when people are looking to get their shit together, they often say things like, “I don’t even know where to begin.” Therefore, it’s time to demolish this lame excuse and begin by simply setting a goal. This is where Sarah explains the What/Why scenario. First, begin by asking yourself, “What’s wrong with my life?” Then, ask yourself “Why?” Next, set a goal that will help you fix what’s wrong in your life. For example, perhaps the problem in your life is that the giant box for the TV you bought eight months ago is still in the living room. Ask yourself why it’s still sitting there. The answer? Because you haven’t taken it to the street. So set your goal: Take the fucking box to the street. When you’re setting a goal, it’s important to set a reasonable standard. For instance, if your goal is to lose weight, you shouldn’t make a goal of looking like Sofia Vergara, that’s unrealistic for most normal people. You see when you set unrealistic goals, you are setting yourself up for failure. You’re running a race that will never end. You might as well give up, go home, and sit on the couch and eat a Costco-sized pallet of bite-size Mini Oreos. Instead, you should set realistic goals based on your own life, not someone else’s measurements.

Once you’ve set your goal, it’s time to start scheduling time to work on it. If you’re like most people, you might be thinking, “There’s never enough time.” You have too many things to do but too few hours in the day to get it all done. Again, this is just another lame excuse. You have 24 hours in a day, it’s up to you to use them wisely. The key to time management is laying out a strategy and focus. Figure out just how long it takes you to complete a task, schedule the time, and get it done. Next, prioritize your to-do list. This is where “Fuck Overload” comes into play. If you give too many fucks - without enough time, energy, or money to devote to them - you become overbooked, overwhelmed, and overdrawn. This is where you begin to experience “Fuck Overload” and experience panic, anxiety, and despair. In reality, you don’t need to give all those fucks so it’s time to start prioritizing. To avoid “Fuck Overload,” it’s time to figure out which of your tasks are “to-do” and which ones are “must-do.” For Sarah, her to-do list looked something like this: pick up a prescription, write 500 words, touch up roots, do laundry, order a birthday gift for her husband, and watch the Red Sox game. In the end, her “must-do” list was simple: pick up a prescription and write 500 words. When you pair down the truly necessary tasks, you realize you have more time than you think!

Chapter 4: Getting Your Money Shit Together No matter your financial goal, you’ll need to use what you’ve learned so far about strategy, focus, and commitment to achieve some of your financial goals, like getting out of debt, saving up enough money to start your own business, or purchasing your dream home. So if you answer the question, “What’s wrong with my life?” is that your bank account is in the red each month, then it’s time to figure out why. Perhaps you’re spending a little bit too much. Let’s say you’re spending $100 extra each month, while this doesn’t seem like a whole lot over a month, let’s just stick with this amount for the sake of this example. Okay, so let’s say your goal is to spend $100 less each month. First, you need to strategize! Think about spending just $25 less each week for four weeks. By breaking down your $100 into increments of $25, it becomes a much more manageable chunk. Next, it’s time to focus. When you’re confronted with a potential expense, think about how much it costs in increments of $25 and ask yourself, Do I really need it? If the answer is no, do not take out your wallet, swipe your credit card, or sign your name on the dotted line. When you don’t spend the money, that is known as commitment. Perhaps you’re going out to dinner and want to save $25. Think about skipping the appetizer and dessert and stick to an entree and a drink!

Perhaps $25 a week still doesn’t feel like a small enough, manageable goal to keep your spending habits at bay. In this case, you can break your chunks down even further to a daily amount. This works out to $3.57 you have to avoid spending each day to account for $100 a month. Here is where you should probably make a list of the things you spend money on daily to see which items can be easily eliminated. Here are five things on which you don’t need to spend $3.57 or more: a cup of coffee, two Powerball tickets, a 3-pack of gum, a collapsible shot glass key chain, any three-and-a-half items from the dollar store. Think about your goal, whether it’s $100 a month or $100,000 towards your dream home, you can achieve it by watching your daily spending habits and chunking it into manageable chunks.

Chapter 5: Win at Life and Win in Your Relationship Now that you’ve started with the small shit, it’s time to move into the tough shit. That is the problem of getting older, getting ahead, getting healthy, and getting better at life in general. We’ll start with how you can apply the strategies you’ve learned to your relationships. And while having healthy relationships in every area in life is the goal, we’re going to focus on your romantic partner relationship for now. So if you want to nurture your relationship, it’s time to get competitive. When we’re talking about competition, we aren’t talking about playing each other in one-on-one basketball or entering a doubles tennis match. No, being competitive in your relationship means competing with your partner to become the more loving, thoughtful, and affectionate person in your relationship. For example, when you set your goal for yourrelationship, make your goal to be the most helpful or the most kind. Perhaps for the next holiday, you can have a competition to see who gives the best present or who can create a better surprise.

Winning in life means winning in your relationship, so once you adopt a winning relationship mindset, you’ll begin to change your perspective about everyday chores and mundane tasks. For example, instead of dreading the after-dinner cleanup that involves taking the stinky trash to the curb of your driveway or even to the dumpster on the other side of your apartment complex, you can now think of this task as a way to earn more points in your competition. In other words, try showing your partner you love them by doing annoying tasks that nobody likes. If you both adopt a winning relationship mindset, you’ll both be competing to show one another your love! If you’re really looking to win, it’s time to get organized. Just like when you set time aside to work on accomplishing your goals, you should schedule some time to create a list of things you could do for your partner that will show your love. Maybe these are big things like scheduling a romantic trip to the Caribbean or scheduling a weekend getaway in a nearby city. While you can certainly incorporate these big gestures if you have the time and money, it’s more important to include many small gestures like keeping their favorite snack stocked in the pantry. In the end, it’s the small things that matter. Practicing daily kindness lets your partner know that they are always on your mind. In fact, the annual big romantic gesture might seem like you’re simply overcompensating for ignoring them the rest of the time. That’s certainly not winning!

Chapter 6: Get Your Professional Shit Together Now it’s time to get your professional shit together. This can look however you want, remember that Sarah ended up quitting her job, becoming a freelancer, and moving to the Caribbean to get her shit together. Of course, you don’t necessarily have to do something so drastic, unless you want to! Whatever it looks like for you is okay, perhaps it’s getting a raise or even scoring that new promotion. Regardless of your career path, Sarah has plenty of tips to help you get your professional shit together. The first step is to be confident. Okay, that may seem a bit vague and honestly a bit impossible sometimes. Even if we’ve been with a company for several years, exuding confidence isn’t always so easy. That’s why you should simply begin by appearing confident! When you appear confident, you can begin to gain the trust and respect of others, so how can you appear confident? Begin by looking at your colleagues who you respect. Who do you look up to? What does that person do that you can do? What makes them appear confident? Perhaps they’re doing something incredibly simple like wearing the right outfit and dressing for success. Or maybe they just have a happy disposition and smile more.

You can emulate this confidence too. I mean, would it be so difficult to put a smile on your face and dress a bit better? Next, it’s time to ask and ye shall receive. Many times we have goals to move up in the workplace; however, many of us never get there because we just never asked. For example, if you want to become a director in your department, then begin with having a conversation with your boss about what you need to do to be considered for that position. Stop guessing about what your boss wants and just ask! It’s that simple. By asking the right questions, you can see exactly where you stand in the company and how to achieve your goals. You may be thinking, “I’m too scared to ask my boss” or “My boss won’t ever give me a straight answer.” But what do you have to lose? Either way, you’ll get valuable information. Perhaps you don’t get a straight answer, or you do and it’s not what you want to hear, then you’ll have a clearer understanding of your future at that company. You’ll either know exactly what you need to work on, or you’ll know that you need to find a new job - one where you can grow and progress. Either way, it’s a win-win situation no matter how difficult it may be.

Chapter 7: Strategies for Dealing with Anxiety If you’re anything like Sarah, then you’ve probably had your own struggles with mental health, like anxiety and depression. For many of us, we fail to cope with our anxiety because we normalize it and assume everyone struggles with it in some fashion. While this may be true, not addressing your anxiety can have severe consequences. Take a look at Sarah who thought she was poisoned and dying but was actually having a panic attack! If you’ve ever experienced a panic attack, then you know exactly how suffocating and scary they can be. Therefore, the best strategy to deal with anxiety is to face it head-on and essentially rip off the anxiety Band-Aid. For example, perhaps your problem is that you are desperate to move out of your current living situation. However, you’re struggling to consult your roommate and tell him or her that you want to move out. That’s okay, confrontation is anxiety-inducing for many people but the only way to move forward in life is to put on your big-girl or big-boy pants and just tell your roommate. What’s your other option? Just disappearing in the middle of the night? Secretly moving out? While it may be an awkward conversation, your anxiety will go away once you rip off the Band-Aid and have that hard conversation.

Of course, this strategy can be used in many other situations. Perhaps you need to tell your boss you want to leave, or maybe you need to confront a friend who hurt you, or maybe you need to tell your partner that things aren’t going well and you need to work on your relationship. No matter the situation, confronting the situation head-on is the best strategy to ease your anxiety and improve your mental health. On the other hand, many people cope with anxiety by doing the complete opposite of confrontation. Instead, they decide to just do nothing. In this strategy, ignoring the situation can sometimes result in the problem resolving itself. You may be thinking that this strategy just sounds dangerous and irresponsible, but it’s actually just sensible hesitation. For example, perhaps you receive an email from your boss that causes your anxiety level to spike. Perhaps it even makes you angry. In this case, replying immediately to your boss would be irresponsible. You’d likely say things you don’t mean and react out of anger, resulting in an awkward meeting with your boss or even a potential firing. Instead, do nothing and sleep on it. After a good night’s sleep, you’ll feel calmer and perhaps you’ll even realize the email was nothing to be worried about at all!

Chapter 8: Keeping Your Housekeeping Shit Together When it comes to anxiety, much of that stress may come from trying to keep a tidy home. As you look around and see piles of dishes in the kitchen sink, dirty laundry littering the bedroom floor, and even dust piling on all the surfaces, your anxiety levels begin to rise and you may wonder, “Why can’t I keep my housekeeping shit together?” Luckily, Sarah has a few strategies to get your house shit together and keep it in a state of perfect tidiness. Step one is to schedule one decluttering session. This does not have to be a life-transforming purge of going through every single item you own, thanking it for its service, and handing bags of shit to the local Salvation Army. Instead, it should be enough decluttering to keep you from getting embarrassed when your neighbors, friends, family, or that cousin you never see shows up on your doorstep unexpectedly! Once you’ve completed your initial decluttering session, it’s time to strategize and create a plan to keep your home tidy in the long-run.

Chapter 9: Final Summary As we move through our busy lives, we continuously cross off items on our growing to-do lists while simultaneously adding more tasks. This never-ending cycle leads to many unfavorable scenarios: we get stuck in a rut, we become unhappy with our jobs and even worse, we become unhappy with ourselves and our lives. It’s time to get your shit together. The first step is to identify what is wrong with your life and then ask yourself why. From there, you can set a goal that will help you fix that area of your life. Next, it’s time to break your tasks into manageable tasks and work slowly towards your goal each day. You can then apply this same technique to each area of your life: your work, finances, relationships, and even your lifestyle. At the end of the day, getting your shit together doesn’t have to mean getting everything done on your to-do list, it simply means getting what needs to be done on time and leaving enough time for yourself and your mental health. The key, however, is to focus on your goals and commit to working on them every day. So if you’re looking to get your shit together, it’s time to set some goals, break them down, focus, commit, and lastly, be consistent.