Stop Standing In Your Own Way And How To Level Up

“The greatest act of self-love is to no longer accept a life you are unhappy with.”

“What you believe about your life is what you will make true about your life.”

The Mountain Is You is a book in the realm of self-help and self-improvement. It is written by Brianna Wiest and she goes into depth around the topic of self-sabotage. Sometimes we are not even aware of how we are doing this. It starts from a point of realizing that you never want to feel a certain way again. It covers a lot of topics related to this and how one can identify the problems. She then dives into what you can do to help alleviate the issues and move your life in the direction you want. It guides you into being more in the moment and not letting outside forces dictate your moods and thoughts. You cannot control everything but you can control how you react. Ultimately this book guides you through how to go about figuring out what you want and understanding what is holding you back.

I took almost two pages worth of notes while reading this book. There were things I want to definitely remember going forward. I want and need to be able to think of them in everyday moments so I can apply them to my own life. “Usually when we have a problem that is circumstantial, we are facing the reality of life. When we have a problem that is chronic, we are facing the reality of ourselves.” This was the first light bulb moment I had while reading this tome of knowledge. She goes on to give examples of ways you are self-sabotaging and then explain what your subconscious might want you to know. Like for me, what really hit home was pushing people away and wanting solitude because I am not being my authentic self; if I were it would be easier to have people around. Or eating poorly because I am not giving myself the true experiences I crave. It is ultimately about what you end up doing, not what you intend to do. This book really puts things in perspective and says some smart things. It is not about making huge sweeping changes but microshifts and doing them daily until they become habituated. Change equals stress so reducing the size of the change can help. We even resist things that we want because if we achieve it we then level up, forcing us out of survival mode and into thriving mode, thinking about the bigger questions in life. It is about moving on from the life you don’t want for yourself and building something new. Show up as you are. Your purpose is just to be here. I loved the way it was organized, the way it phrased things, and the level of explanation. This was extremely helpful, and everyone should own a copy. This is exactly the type of book that I would love to have on my shelf behind my desk so that I can just reach back and open it up to find a piece of inspirational advice whenever I need it. 

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Ghostly Tea And Learning To Live A Deathly Life

Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“If we worry about the little things all the time, we run the risk of missing the bigger things.”

Under the Whispering Door is about death, life, and relationships. We are introduced to Wallace, a self-important ass of a lawyer, at the start of the story and we quickly learn what he is all about. He then dies and this is where the story really starts. We follow his journey through all his anger, grief, and acceptance while learning about this group of people (living and dead) that inhabit his life. It mostly takes place in this tea shop in the middle of the woods that seems cozy and such a perfect place to hang out. There are plenty of characters to love and also a few to have other strong feelings about. I was unsure how it was going to finish but it ended up surprising me how well it was wrapped up.

I started out very wary about this book as I was not sure the direction it would take or how it was finally going to end. In the beginning I got a sense of the idea feeling similar to A Christmas Carol which in small ways it did, yes. We do have this curmudgeonly man who endures a journey not of his choosing and is given a chance to reflect. Wallace did grate on me and I found myself losing patience with him initially. The story could have been a copy and paste but TJ Klune did a good job of setting it apart and making it his own. First off, this is a queer story and I am here for it. You aren’t sure when the story starts off because of the mention of an ex-wife but then subtle hints are dropped like having the same taste in men. There are multiple points where it was mentioned and just outright queer love is completely transparent. A sign in the shop reads “Guys, Gals, & Our Nonbinary Pals.” We definitely need more of these stories. There was also this sitcom-like quality to a lot of the scenes. There was quippy responses and slapstick like occurrences and it felt like just pure fun. I did laugh out loud at several points, especially reading a scene where a séance unfolds. There was heart and soul to this novel as well. There were sad moments that were touching. There were heartwarming and uplifting parts too. In general, I do not like stories that involve ghosts but this one was an exception. It was a beautiful story and I do recommend people read it.

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