10 Things I Learned from a Book that Touched My Life
There are books that slip into your life and leave just as quietly. There are books you forget almost immediately after reading them. And there are books, like Arianna Huffington’s Thrive, that make you reassess your life.
In this book, which is part memoir, part personal development, Huffington questions how we view success and challenges us to redefine it beyond money and power. Our wellbeing, intuition, compassion, and connections with others, she says, are essential and help us to truly thrive.
Here’s a summary of the main ideas that impressed me… I hope they inspire you too!
- “No” is a full answer: We don’t have to spend time and energy on explaining why we’ve chosen to say no, or decided not to take up an offer.
- Make sure you have a good pillow and bed: Your quality of sleep matters – a lot! Sleep deprivation reduces our emotional intelligence, self-esteem, assertiveness, sense of independence, empathy, quality of our interpersonal relationships, positive thinking, and impulse control.
- You can make a small tweak in your life to improve its quality. For example:
- Start by sleeping 30 minutes more per night
- Don’t have your phone by your bed
- Don’t check your emails first thing in the morning. (Did you know that the average smartphone user checks their device every six and a half minutes?)
- Walk 10 minutes more each day
- Giving makes us happier – whether we’re volunteering, giving away things we don’t need, or doing a small act of kindness that will have a positive impact on someone else.
- Declutter your life: start with your cupboard, wardrobe or workspace. Make space in your life too, so you can welcome new things…
- A good and quick way to be done with a task or project is to simply drop it! Identify anything that has been sitting on your agenda or to-do list for a long time. Does it still matter to you? Will it add value to your life? If the answer is no, then consider dropping it.
- Put self-care first – make your needs a priority. Arianna starts her book describing her “wake-up call”: a health crisis that led her to see her life through different eyes. She encourages us to act now, if we are not taking care of ourselves, so we don’t need a wake-up call to tell us what we already know deep inside.
- When your inner voice speaks, “shut up and listen!” I have nothing more to add here. ?
- We have, if we’re lucky, about 30 000 days to play the game of life. How we play it will be determined by what we value. Or, as author David Foster Wallace put it, “Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.”
- Ask yourself what is important to you and give your precious time to those people and activities that feed your soul.As the book ends: “And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, ‘This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!’ And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, ‘No. This is what’s important’.”
Which of the above resonates with you? We’d love to hear your thoughts – do leave a comment below.
If you like this article, subscribe to our newsletter and share these tips with someone who loves reading and wants to thrive.
ps. Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder, Ariana Huffington, is available on Amazon.
FEEL FREE TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR BLOG OR NEWSLETTER. We ask only that you attribute Expat Nest and include the following: Expat Nest (www.expatnest.com) is a professional online counselling service for expats.
Dear Vivian,
I too have realized how important sleep is for us. I have recently changed pillows to one that I received as a gift (memory foam) and it has helped me so much to relax and has improved the quality of my sleep. Now, I wake up much more refreshed and energetic rather than lethargic! I recommend it!
Kind Regards,
Thomas
Thanks Thomas! Indeed having a good pillow helps a lot! Enjoy good night’s sleep from now on 🙂
Kind regards,
Vivian
Hi Vivian,
Indeed sleeping is something that we need to take care of:)
The interesting thing mentioned here is when saying NO and this should be a full answer. It is not about the one who says that, it is about who is listening really to him. Sometimes it is hard debate.
Best regards
Abdelrahman
Thanks so much for your comment Abdelrahman! Glad that you find this article valuable!
Best wishes,
Vivian
Dear Vivian,
Thanks so much for sharing these points and it is so good to hear from you again! In fact, many of these points are the same ones that I follow and that have governed my life since last year. Due to some difficult circumstances, I have had to learn to take a different path from what I used to do before. And these were the points that I followed.
But decluttering my life is still a work in progress, it is hard to remove some of the things that I have grown attached to. But thanks for all the sharing and these points too.
Dear John,
Thanks for your comment and glad that you find this articles valauble.
Indeed the above tips can be very helpful particularly when we go through difficult time.
Re decluttering, perhaps would it be an idea to start with things with which you are not so emotionally attached to? I am sure all of us have lots of such items that we could give away. A step at a time…
Also, perhaps you may decide at the end that you would like to keep some of the things that matter so much to you; what’s wrong with this? 🙂
Best wishes,
Vivian
Dear Vivian,
Was going through LinkedIn and saw this article which I had commented on previously and you had answered very graciously too:) Indeed, after decluttering your life of distractions and obstacles and hindrances, some old things may still be fit to remain. And this is fine:) It just shows that these items have passed through the refiner’s fire and come out like pure gold, and ready for use in the new life and era.
Thanks for your earthy and well-grounded and punchy advice. I hope that you and your loved ones are all well, as am I and my family and loved ones. May God continue to keep you and your loved ones in the palms of His hands:)
Best wishes
Arulnathan John
Dear John,
Thank you so much for your feedback and comment on my blog as well! It so great having you here!
What an insight I just got from what you wrote : ‘It just shows that these items have passed through the refiner’s fire and come out like pure gold, and ready for use in the new life and era’. Indeed!
Thanks for your wishes. All the best to you and yours!
With lots of appreciation,
Vivian
Dear Vivian,
Many thanks for your kind comments and all the best to you and yours too!
Take care and God bless,
Arulnafhan John